They urged him on quickly.
"Stop dawdling, hurry up and get everything back, hurry up and hurry up, leave early tomorrow and head back early, we can't stay up this late again."
After a brief, albeit not chaotic, flurry of activity, they finally managed to gather all of today's spoils at the village office. The villagers, not in a hurry to go home for dinner, filled the rather large courtyard of the village office. Liu Weimin, seeing this, thought, "Well, there's no point in trying to persuade them anymore."
"Come, come, bring over the big scale. Let's divide these sweet potatoes first, so you won't be unable to eat or sleep."
The villagers burst into laughter; the thought of distributing grain put their minds at ease.
"A few of you come over here to weigh the produce. The rest of you, go find your own bags and take all the mountain goods you need today. I'm not going to keep an eye on them for you."
The villagers laughed again and rushed to a corner of the yard where all the things they had collected during the day were.
The grain sacks all look similar, but since they were mostly sewn by the housewives themselves, they couldn't be exactly the same. It was easy to recognize your own sack.
Today's harvest was indeed considerable. Almost every household had two sacks of mountain produce, and the sweet potatoes here were even more impressive, immediately becoming the focus of the village office, especially the elderly and children who hadn't come up the mountain to stay at home, who were all amazed.
"Weimin, you guys are really something! Where did you find so many good things?"
"Haha, God still left us a way out!"
The villagers nearby interrupted.
"Second Uncle, it wasn't that God left us a way out; it was that young educated youth Jian found us. Otherwise, we would have all missed out."
“It wasn’t us who found it,”
"What? This is doomed!"
You've been traversing this mountain for so many years, yet you're not as good as those newly arrived educated youth.
"You guys are really something! What's the point of having eyes then? They can't even see the good stuff right under their noses."
"No, Second Uncle, we, we've looked too, but we really haven't found it."
"snort!"
Liu Weimin didn't interrupt, mainly because if he spoke, the artillery would surely be aimed at him.
"Hurry up, the old rule applies, everyone keeps the mountain goods they collect."
These sweet potatoes, as usual, were distributed to everyone as food.
We just discussed it, and it's normal; we should still divide it according to this year's work points. However, at this hour, it's not really possible to divide it into exact amounts, down to the pound or ounce.
We discussed it and decided that since this was the harvest from today's hike, we should weigh it out and divide it equally among everyone.
But, those who went up the mountain today and did the physical labor will get an extra twenty jin. Any objections? Do you agree?
Those who contribute to the effort of going up the mountain will definitely receive more, while those who don't go up the mountain may be unwilling to receive less, but since they didn't contribute, they've already gotten something for free.
"No."
"agree!"
Liu Weimin nodded.
"As everyone knows, we were able to find these sweet potatoes today thanks to Xiao Jian, the educated youth. So, we'll give her an extra fifty jin. Any objections?"
"No!"
The voices were much louder this time, and they were all in unison.
Those who went up the mountain all saw it with their own eyes and knew perfectly well that if Xiao Jian, the educated youth, hadn't said anything, they wouldn't have discovered that place even if they went up for several days in a row, let alone today.
Given Xiao Jian's skill and courage in going up the mountain on her own, wouldn't it have been better if she had secretly gone up the mountain to dig it up herself afterwards?
If it were her, she wouldn't have to worry about having enough to eat all winter long, and giving it away would be a huge favor.
That's all grain! Telling them is like sharing the grain that's already in your hands with others; they have to accept that favor.
Even the elderly who didn't go up the mountain heard about it. During famine, food was life itself. This person is a great philanthropist.
"Agreed, agreed!"
Liu Weimin looked around and nodded. Fortunately, there were no ungrateful people in their Liujiatun village.
“Alright, let’s hurry up. Jianshe, you two help Xiaojian return her things. Aiguo, give Xiaojian her things first, and also distribute the things to the other three educated youths. You guys go back and rest first. We heard the sound coming down the mountain today. Let’s set off an hour earlier tomorrow, so don’t be late.”
Chen Jianguo and the other two knew they had benefited from Jian Dan's kindness, and they thanked him repeatedly.
"Okay, village chief, we got it. We'll be on time tomorrow."
She didn't refuse their kindness, nor did she try to prove she could carry it. After a long day, she was exhausted. With so many people around, it wasn't convenient to sneak in a snack. She was starving.
After they left, the village office became lively again, filled with talk of grain—grain that could save lives.
After paying the grain tax, each family received only a small amount. Almost all their hopes were pinned on the mountain produce, hoping to gather as much as possible to tide them over. No one dared to imagine such a pleasant surprise.
Although mountain produce is good, nothing can compare to pure grains; everyone's eyes were burning with anticipation.
"Village chief, divide it up!"
"I'll cook a few when I get back. These past few years, I've forgotten what it feels like to be full."
"Village chief, today is the first day. Would you consider this a good start?"
Liu Weimin didn't say anything, but the surrounding villagers had already chimed in.
"How can that not count? I'll bring an extra sack tomorrow. I always feel that following Xiao Jian, this educated youth, might lead me to discover some good things."
"Haha, if that's what you mean, then I'll go tomorrow too, and I can help you out."
Liu Weimin tapped the table.
"Alright, alright, hurry up, finish distributing them and go back to eat and sleep."
That's enough for today. Don't go around spreading rumors about it.
You're so stupid to think that with our village like this this year, how much better can other villages be?
But while everyone else is starving, your poorest village, Liujiatun, is actually having enough to eat. What about the other villages?
The fastest one to respond immediately
"What can we do? The mountain belongs to our village, and so does Xiao Jian, the educated youth. They can't possibly come and take it from us, can they?"
"Foolish!"
"It's not right to rob mountains and people, but what about the supplies? You've brought back so many good things, are you just going to stand by and watch other villages go hungry?"
Putting everything else aside, the label of being a disunity will be slapped on your head on the spot.
Besides, in all the surrounding villages, which one doesn't have your brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and fathers-in-law? Think about it, are you going to secretly feed your parents, wife, and children with this little bit of food, or are you going to go out and show it off, making it known to everyone? When they come to borrow grain from you, will you lend it to them or not?
The money was borrowed, and the parents and children went hungry.
"Don't lend it? Hmph, then you'll be an ungrateful wolf cub. Forget about your parents, wife, and children; if you run into someone powerful, they might dig up your ancestors for eight generations. Don't believe me? Go try it and see if I'm just bluffing!"
Liu Weimin knew that the villagers usually liked to show off, but there had to be a time for it, right?
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