Chapter 13 An unexpected surprise
A notice of personnel changes was posted, and Yang Xianyong, an engineer from the road construction team, was successfully promoted to become the new chief of the infrastructure department of Xiufengshan Farm. Huang Xingwu was dismissed and demoted to an office in another place.
"The weasel is out!"
"You acted pretentiously and arrogantly in front of us before, and now you are fired. You deserve it!"
"The weasel must be connected with Director Luo! Infrastructure is the easiest area for corruption, and the stack of receipts in his pocket may be evidence. Did you see how ugly Director Luo's face is?"
"Who cares? Anyway, the weasel is gone. That's worth celebrating."
"Yes, yes, we won! Tao Nanfeng won!"
Everyone became happier and happier as they talked, and they all jumped up and down with joy. The girls held hands and circled around Tao Nanfeng, wishing they could lift her up and tell the whole world—
Tao Nanfeng can build a house.
Led everyone to build a brick house!
Tao Nanfeng successfully drove away the annoying weasel.
Tao Nanfeng pursed her lips with a faint smile on her face. It was also the first time for her to turn architectural drawings into reality. She was unsure at first, but fortunately she had everyone’s help.
The sun gradually sets and it is almost time for dinner.
Because Tao Nanfeng was the biggest contributor, the status of girls was improved accordingly. Wei Min let the four girls rest, and he and the boys squeezed into the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, lit a fire, cooked rice, and stir-fried vegetables, saying enthusiastically that he was going to prepare a delicious meal.
When moving into a new house, you must first warm up the stove.
The girls are happy to relax. Li Huilan sprinkled water on the spring orchid leaves on the windowsill, looked up at the small window, and suggested: "Should we make some beautiful curtains?"
Xiao Aiyun was originally sitting at the table writing a letter. When she heard this, she perked up. She stopped writing and turned to look at the window: "Okay, tear off a piece of cloth. I know how to make curtains."
Ye Qin was sitting on the edge of the bed folding clothes. Hearing this, he looked up and said, "I have two feet of cloth coupons here."
Li Huilan smiled and said, "I also have two feet of floral cloth, so four feet will be enough. Xiao Aiyun will be responsible for making it, and Tao Nanfeng will be responsible for...supervision."
No one wanted Tao Nanfeng to spend money and effort, which made her feel very warm. In this world, there are people who take advantage of others and then act ungratefully, and there are also people who return the favor.
Tao Nanfeng nodded: "Okay. I'll go find some wooden boards and make nameplates for each dormitory."
After saying that, Tao Nanfeng walked out of the dormitory and planned to go to the bamboo forest in the east to cut a thick bamboo. The bamboo strips were smooth and had deep textures, which were good for painting. They would also look elegant if hung on the door.
The setting sun shines obliquely, and the evening breeze blows through the bamboo forest, making a rustling sound.
The dense bamboo forest concealed his figure. Tao Nanfeng was about to swing his sword, but suddenly stopped and listened carefully.
Two people were walking slowly along the path outside the forest, and their voices were getting closer and closer.
Yang Xianyong's voice was low and he seemed to lack confidence: "Xiangbei, I don't want to be the chief of the infrastructure section. I am suppressed by Director Jiao and Director Luo above me, and the old employees below me are lazy and muddle through. I am old and just want to have a few days of peace and quiet. I dare not offend anyone, so... you should be the chief."
After a short silence, Xiangbei sighed softly: "Old Yang, don't you know me yet? After coming down from the battlefield, I just want to go back to my hometown to help my fellow villagers. Xiufeng Mountain is poor, so first we need to repair the roads and develop the farms, so that the villagers can have a way out. As for these troubles in the officialdom, I don't want to get involved anymore."
"Then why did you stand up just now? You said you didn't want to be an official and just wanted to live a quiet life, so why did you slam the table in the director's office and show your combat hero medal? Xiangbei, you have to admit that you are not content with being ordinary."
"I just saw that these twenty educated youths from Jiangcheng were young and innocent, just like the soldiers I led before, so I felt sorry for them and wanted to help them."
"Help? How can you help if you don't have the power? Don't you know what kind of people those officials at Xiufengshan Farm are?"
Xiangbei didn't say anything and fell into long thought.
Tao Nanfeng stood quietly behind a bamboo forest. The bamboo forest was so dense that it completely concealed her figure. Xiang Bei and Yang Xianyong did not notice that there was someone inside.
"Xiangbei, you are a man of courage. Why do you have to hide it? Sometimes, we strive to stand higher, not for our own selfish interests, but to protect more people." Lao Yang's words were earnest.
"Ah... Lao Yang, let me think about it again."
The footsteps of the two people gradually faded away. Tao Nanfeng confirmed that they had left, then he swung his knife, cut off a bamboo tube and walked out of the woods.
Xiangbei and Yang Xianyong had already walked far away. Tao Nanfeng stared at the direction they left and remained silent for a long time. The field office tacitly agreed to the bet, Huang Xingwu was dismissed and Yang Xianyong became the section chief. It turned out that Xiang Bei was silently supporting him behind the scenes.
Wherever you look, there are a few blades of grass on the country dirt road that have been trampled down, but are still growing stubbornly.
When we returned to the educated youth center, dinner was already steaming hot.
The kitchen has a large wooden barrel bought from local villagers. The steamed rice is plump and has a pine aroma that makes people salivate.
Braised pork, potato slices, and fried sweet potato leaves were three dishes with a reasonable combination of meat and vegetables, and the aroma of meat was everywhere. The educated youth had not eaten meat for more than a month, and their gluttony was aroused, so they immediately picked up their chopsticks and started eating.
“Delicious, delicious, the braised pork is delicious!”
"Four dollars per person, no snatching allowed."
"Wei Min, you are great at both eating and cooking. Why don't you take care of the kitchen logistics from now on?"
A dining table made up of four desks was placed in a row under the eaves. Everyone was standing by the table with their bowls in hand eating, and the atmosphere was noisy and lively.
After reluctantly finishing the braised pork, the educated youth sighed while soaking rice in the broth.
"Oh! How nice it would be if we could eat meat every day."
"That's right. Although there is enough rice and vegetables on the farm, there is no meat to eat, which is not good."
"When I was at home, I could at least have some meat once a week, but I've been assigned here for almost two months and I've only eaten meat twice."
Life was hard in the 1970s, and meat, oil and cloth were all supplied with coupons. Xiufengshan Farm is located in a remote area, with only one rugged mountain road leading down the mountain. It is inconvenient to communicate with the outside world, and there is no place to buy tickets. Young people who are still growing up can't help but complain.
As they were talking, a figure appeared on the dirt road on one side of the educated youth site in the twilight.
He was a skinny man in his forties, wearing a loose, dark-colored coarse cloth shirt and a pair of muddy straw sandals. He carried a backpack half a person's height on his back, weighing him down so that he leaned forward. Every step he took was heavy and difficult.
When the man smelled the aroma of meat wafting over from the educated youth's site, a look of envy appeared on his face. He stopped and looked over here hesitantly.
Wei Min was a warm-hearted man, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "Fellow countryman, what's the matter?"
When the man saw someone talking to him, he mustered up the courage to come over. When they got closer, the educated youth discovered that his backpack was filled with half a basket of tea fruits.
The shell is shiny and slightly cracked, and it doesn't look very good.
The educated youth have been wandering around the mountains frequently recently and learned from local farmers that this is the tea fruit. The tea oil squeezed out is bright yellow and has a fresh fragrance. It does not produce smoke when stir-fried, and is extremely delicious when used to make fried tofu and pancakes.
Qiao Yadong asked politely: "Fellow villager, are you picking tea fruit?"
The man looked a little timid, smiled shyly, and said with a thick accent: "I am from the Beipo Brigade. I picked a basket of tea fruit and went to Quping Town at the foot of the mountain to sell it."
The educated youth were somewhat curious: "Sell? Why are there so many left?"
The man sighed and narrowed his eyes, his dark face full of wrinkles: "The tea oil factory in town has high requirements. They think my tea fruits are not dried enough, so they only took half a basket."
Xiao Aiyun interrupted and asked, "Why don't you dry them before selling them?"
The man lowered his head in shame and said after a while, "My family is poor. The crops grown on the few acres of moon fields are only enough to make a living. We rely on the oil tea fruits on the mountain to sell for salt and needles. Today, my sister is just turning twelve years old. I want to buy a piece of cloth to make a school bag for her... The dried oil tea fruits were sold a few days ago. I picked these yesterday. I was a little impatient."
There is a local saying: "At the age of twelve, the lid of the pot is opened", which means that when a child reaches the age of twelve, he can take charge of the household work. Even if the family does not celebrate the full month or first birthday, they will still celebrate the twelfth birthday.
The man felt very guilty because the youngest girl in the family was twelve years old and couldn't even afford a school bag. With his head drooped, the mountain breeze made his gray hair look even more messy.
For some reason, the educated youth suddenly fell silent when they saw his bare feet wearing straw sandals, his sunburned skin, and his rough and cracked hands.
The man suddenly raised his head and said very embarrassedly: "Can you give me a bowl of water? I left home early this morning and I am so hungry that my eyes are dizzy..."
Li Huilan's voice was full of sympathy: "There is still food in the bucket, please take a break and eat before leaving."
The man waved his hands hurriedly: "No, no, I brought food, I just want a bowl of water."
He pulled out a brown hard biscuit from his pocket and explained, "I did bring food, but this biscuit is too hard. If there is no water, I am afraid it will get stuck."
Ye Qin looked at the hard biscuit in his hand. It was as hard as a shoe sole and didn't look like it was edible at all. He couldn't help but widen his eyes, swallowed quietly, and asked carefully, "What is this made of?"
The man replied good-naturedly: "The cakes are made of corn and rice bran. Although they are a bit hard, they are good as dry food."
When Tao Nanfeng heard the word "rice bran", he felt a pang in his heart for some reason and turned his head away, not daring to look again. The local farmers live a hard life, but they are simple and honest and never complain.
Wei Min brought a bowl of spring water and handed it to the man. The man thanked him repeatedly, gulped down a few mouthfuls, then broke the hard biscuit with his hands and swallowed it mouthful by mouthful.
The educated youth looked at each other, then at the three large bowls of food on the table, and collectively repented for complaining about having no meat to eat.
Wei Min soaked the rice in meat broth, added some potato slices and sweet potato leaves, and forced them into the man's hands.
The man hurriedly declined, "No, no, a bowl of water is enough. I'm not hungry. You are intellectuals who came from the big city to our poor place. We already feel guilty for not having anything delicious to offer you. How can I eat your rations? My fellow villagers will scold me to death when I go back."
No matter how much he was persuaded, the man refused to take the job.
Finally, he bent down, placed the bowl of rice soaked in broth on the ground under the eaves, picked up the backpack and hurried away.
"Wait a minute—" Ye Qin seemed to have thought of something and pulled off the red ribbon on his head.
"Take mine too!" Tao Nanfeng immediately understood what she meant. He raised his hand to untie the pink ribbon on his braid and handed it to her.
Ye Qin hurried over and stuffed the ribbon into the man's hands, tears in his eyes: "My friend, it's your daughter's twelfth birthday, don't let her down, give this to her."
The man stood there blankly, seemingly not knowing how to respond.
Ye Qin's lips trembled slightly. She was the daughter of an agricultural bureau employee and her family was well-off. She had never heard of anyone who would walk for six or seven hours on a mountain road to sell oil-tea fruits just to buy a piece of cloth for a school bag.
The man suddenly fell to his knees with a thud.
This frightened all the educated youths and they all ran over and tried their best to help him up.
"My friend, you can't do this."
"A man's knees are made of gold. In the new China, everyone is equal and kneeling is not an option."
"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it, get up quickly."
The man held two brightly colored ribbons in his hands, his eyes red, and wanted to refuse, but when he thought of his daughter's eager eyes, he couldn't say the words of refusal.
He could starve himself, and could walk a day on a mountain road carrying hundreds of kilograms of tea-oil fruits, but when he saw such a beautiful ribbon, he couldn't bear to refuse.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you..." The man's hands were trembling, and he bent his knees and wanted to kneel down again. Fortunately, Wei Min was strong and pulled him up.
The country folk didn’t know how to thank the educated youth for their generosity, so they could only express their gratitude in the simplest way: “Tomorrow, tomorrow I will bring a girl here and let her kowtow to you.”
Tao Nanfeng turned around and looked at the rolling green hills. Suddenly, the words that Xiangbei had just said popped up in his mind -
The folks in Xiufeng Mountain are very poor. Only when the roads are repaired and the farms are developed can the folks have a way out.
For the first time in his life, Tao Nanfeng felt countless hopes in his heart.
I hope Xiangbei can lead his fellow villagers to find a way out.
I hope the folks will no longer go hungry.
I hope students can carry new school bags.
I hope girls will wear red ribbons.
I hope to have meat and fish at every meal.
…
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
