Going out and saying these things at a time like this is practically suicide.
"Of course, I know that the men and women of Liujiatun are not heartless. They are all relatives and friends, and they must care about each other."
Your sister is starving, and her father-in-law is also running out of food. How can I just stand by and watch?
If I really did that, not only would you guys look down on me, but even my own mother would, right?
Folks, what I'm saying is, when it comes to family members, no one will pick on those useless arguments. If someone is really in trouble, and you secretly send them a few pounds of sweet potatoes, wouldn't they be grateful to you? Why would they chase after you to ask where they came from?
But as the saying goes, a small favor is appreciated, but a large one breeds resentment.
What does that mean? You give someone a liter of rice, and they thank you for saving their life. They say, "Oh, their family is already struggling so much, yet they still managed to squeeze out something to help me. This person is trustworthy."
If you give someone a bushel of rice, what will they think? He's willing to give me so much, he must have even more in his own hands. Oh dear, this person is so stingy, he only gave me this little bit.
Do you think this makes sense?
The villagers were silent for two seconds, then began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Why not? My mother-in-law used to do the same thing when she gave my father-in-law gifts."
She was happy when I told her how many eggs the hen had laid and brought them all.
I told her I gave her one pound of the three pounds of meat I had given her, and she got upset.
I was wondering, what's going on? A pound of meat isn't as precious as a few eggs?
So that's how it is.
"Oh, I see. Isn't this the same principle as 'things are valued for their scarcity'? Isn't that right, Village Chief?"
Seeing that the villagers seemed to understand, Liu Weimin felt relieved.
"As long as they're not stupid, that's fine."
And another thing, what if someone believes you and goes into the mountains? If something happens to them, do you think they'll come looking for you?
You should have some sense when you speak and act.
Alright, everyone come over here quickly, hurry up and distribute the goods, then go back to sleep.
Jian Dan didn't know what the villagers had said again. After seeing Liu Jianshe off, she locked the gate, poured water into the big iron pot, added firewood, and went into the base.
After a busy day, she didn't want to cook anymore. In this slightly chilly autumn, she'd rather have something warm.
After inspecting the base's kitchen, he decisively carried the hot pot back to his own cabin.
The small pot was bubbling away, various ingredients were rolling around, and the rising steam emitted an enticing aroma. Underneath was a warm kang (heated brick bed), and taking a bite of piping hot mutton, although it was expected to make you hiss and laugh, I have to say, it was really damn satisfying.
The planned ascent up the mountain was ruined on the fifth day. Not only were the villagers frustrated, but Liu Weimin was also frustrated. However, he dared not speak out and had to obey unconditionally.
Early in the morning, I saw Secretary Lin of the commune leading people from the armed forces department blocking the foot of the mountain.
"Village Chief Liu, some people have escaped into the mountains from the border. It's possible they might flee towards the village. For everyone's safety, please don't go up the mountain for the time being."
What could Liu Weimin say? Of course, people's safety was the most important thing. He could only persuade the villagers to go back first. After all, the other side of the deep mountains was indeed the border. It was because of this mountain that they were not directly facing each other across the border.
"Go back and tidy up the house first. It's going to get frosty soon. Have you harvested all the cabbages in your private plot and garden?"
The villagers were in high spirits when they went up the mountain, and they couldn't help but feel it was a pity.
"Village chief, are we just going to give up like this?"
Liu Weimin glared at him angrily.
"What, are those things more important than your life? Haven't you gotten enough good stuff these past few days?"
"That's a lot, but there's no such thing as too much."
So, although it's only been four days since we went up there, we've already collected quite a few good things. Not to mention the mountain produce and trees from previous years, we've found a lot of good stuff just by following Xiao Jian, the educated youth.
The first day was a plate of sweet potato.
The next day was a small patch of wild grapes, about twenty or thirty vines.
On the third day, behind a steep and secluded slope, they surprisingly discovered a stream. It might not be needed much this year due to the cold weather, but what about next year? The old farmer was worried about this kind of unforeseen event.
On the fourth day, which was yesterday, just before we were about to descend the mountain, we actually found a patch of red groundcherries.
Regardless of the quality of the item, how come the villagers didn't notice it?
They were eagerly anticipating what else they might discover today.
Picking grapes won't fill you up, so wouldn't it be better to give them to your mother and children to sweeten their mouths?
If you take the red ground cherry back and hang it outside, it will freeze again and can be given to the children as a snack when it gets cold. The skin can also be kept to make a decoction for cooling down.
In other words, not only food, but almost everything on the mountain is a treasure. There is nothing useless; in their eyes, everything is precious.
Liu Weimin, of course, understood their mindset.
"Alright, be content. Think about previous years, and think about these past few days. You've even solved the problem of going hungry. What more could you want?"
He looked around and lowered his voice.
"Don't be too greedy. People only have so much good fortune. What are you planning to do? Use it all up in one go and then not be able to live like this anymore?"
Logically speaking, it shouldn't be appropriate for the village chief to say these words, but it's precisely because of these simple and straightforward words that they are more likely to take them to heart.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, many people's eagerness and anticipation lessened considerably.
"Yeah, that's right! How could I forget about that? My mom was saying last night, 'As long as we don't starve, we can't let the mountain be barren.'"
"You're right, village chief, we misunderstood."
"I'm going back now; there's still a lot of work to do at home."
They left so abruptly that Liu Weimin was amused, and Secretary Lin, watching from behind, also smiled slightly.
"Old Liu, you really have a knack for this!"
Liu Weimin turned around and smiled bitterly.
"It's all because of poverty. Everyone's thinking about going up to find more food so that winter will be easier, right?"
Secretary Lin nodded.
"That makes sense. However, it is good that you can use your own conditions to find and create conditions in a fixed environment to save yourselves. This behavior is commendable and worth promoting."
After exchanging pleasantries with the leaders, several educated youths quietly slipped away from the back. Li Yan and the others returned to the educated youth compound, and with a simple turn, their home was just ahead.
Judging from the situation, it seems they won't be able to go up the mountain openly for a while. Before parting, Jian Dan also gave them some instructions.
"The winter is about to begin here. I guess everyone is staying home these days tending to their gardens and plots. Do you want to go and get some vegetables or something? Otherwise, what are you going to eat all winter? Just potatoes and sweet potatoes?"
Lin Zhaodi said,
"We were talking about that last night too. We'll go to the village and ask later."
It was just a simple reminder. She nodded, thinking that she would harvest the cabbages and radishes she had planted when she got back. The weather looked like it was about to freeze, and she didn't want to eat frozen vegetables all winter.
"By the way, it seems like people here pickle sauerkraut in the winter. Would you like to try it?"
The group looked at each other.
"Does the village have enough cabbages to trade?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
