Several educated youths who knew the situation stared in disbelief for a moment, still somewhat helpless.
"No, this is too hasty, isn't it?"
"This is a tractor! You just took it out like that?"
No matter where you are, anything with wheels is a big item. For many years, bicycles have been the top choice for wedding items, not to mention anything with four wheels.
Even Liu Weimin was so excited he could hardly believe it. He held the note in his hand, unsure where to put it, his eyes filled with stars.
"I, I, quickly find someone to come and help me see what this says?"
"Village chief, don't you know how to read? What's wrong? Don't you recognize things now?"
"Go away, go away, get out of here!"
This commotion brought Liu Weimin to his senses, and he began to give instructions.
"Hurry up, accountant, come over and write down the entries. Unload them carefully, write them down one by one, and put them away properly. Nobody is allowed to touch them."
"I'll use it after the rod is finished."
"We know, village chief. It's a good thing, we know that too, we'll be very careful."
"Okay, hey Lao Han, did you say you'd send over that... you know, the tractor, later?"
He himself was still a little hesitant to believe it, and he didn't seem very confident when he spoke about it.
"Ah, yes, that's what Platoon Leader Cheng said earlier. It seems like it was in the afternoon, right? He said he would deliver it in the afternoon."
"Afternoon? Isn't it already noon?"
"Yes, village chief, they'll be here in a bit, won't they?"
"Really? Oh dear, shall we go and keep watch at the village entrance?"
"Yes, we'll go there after we finish unloading here, so we don't let other villages get to us."
Amidst laughter and tears, children were sent to the village entrance. The village office was bustling with activity, and everyone pitched in. In the middle of the day, no one remembered to go home to cook or eat. The children, too, were in high spirits, laughing and joking.
For half a day, quite a few people stayed at the tool shed, chatting all day long, and their laughter never faded.
"Hey, you know, for so many years, the whole commune has known that our Liujiatun is notoriously poor, right?"
Who would have thought, haha, with these tools, we can save a lot of effort at work, and with that tractor too, hahaha, just thinking about it, I feel like I could laugh myself awake.
"That's for sure! Now that I think about it, how did we get through those years?"
When we first started eating at our own homes, did we have nothing at home?
Oh my, you all don't know, my mom's earthenware pot was broken. It used to be used to feed the chickens. Back then, we had no choice but to scrub it clean and clean it again, snatch it from the chickens' mouths, and use it to cook porridge or something. It worked quite well.
Later, they figured out a way and bought a sealed jar, which finally replaced the earthenware pot.
The men, all grown men, spoke of these things with great reminiscence.
"Your family is doing alright. Don't even mention back then. In the beginning, my family used rice bowls, such small bowls. The big stove couldn't be used, so we would put a row of bowls on the small stove next to us, put a pinch of rice in each, add water, and that was porridge. My family ate like that for a long time."
Those nearby also recalled,
"Don't you remember how we worked back then?"
"Second brother, what are you saying? Why don't you remember that?"
I remember it was like all the iron parts were collected. During that time, as soon as we finished work, we would go up the mountain to chop tree branches, remember? We had to specifically choose the thick, sturdy ones, and we couldn't hurt the living trees.
Then I dragged it back, and in the dark I sharpened it until it was sharp enough to be used as a shovel the next day.
They were all middle-aged men of similar age, and when the topic came up, they really had something in common.
"Hey, that's true. You know what, isn't that how Brother Yang honed his skills back then?"
"Haha, you know what, it's really possible. Guangming later learned all the skills from Brother Yang, didn't he? After Brother Yang left, look at Guangming, he's taken over and is doing quite well."
"That's right, things are getting better every year."
"People say that the educated youth came to distribute grain, but look at our village, hasn't it gotten better and better since Xiao Jian and the others came? Isn't that right?"
"So what do you mean, Third Brother? Are you trying to say that the good things brought by the educated youth?"
"Look at you, that's not exactly what you said, it's just a casual remark."
Besides, you have to admit how much more meat we've eaten since Xiao Jian came, right?
"As they said, it was Xiao Jian and the others who did something good. They offered us money but refused, and instead gave us this nice stuff in exchange."
"Hey, never mind what other people are like. We all make our own lives."
Among the educated youth, only a few were truly diligent, earning four or five work points a day. Look at them, who can say a good word about them?
"Haha, that's true!"
With something on their minds, the villagers, after finishing their meal, had no interest in taking a nap. They gathered in groups of three or two, in front of their houses or under the big trees, but they were all distracted, talking absentmindedly while glancing towards the village entrance.
Every family is the same; when the adults are busy, the kids all become crazy and disruptive. Right now, with no one around to look after him, he's running around the whole village like a madman.
As the sun rose higher and the weather grew hotter, it was almost time to go to work. The village entrance remained quiet. The people were disappointed, but they didn't dare to wait there any longer. Going to work was the important thing, and the tractor had been promised to be delivered today. They were just waiting here to see it as soon as possible.
Liu Weimin was excited all afternoon, but when he went to work in the afternoon, he had no interest in doing any ideological work and simply waved his hand.
"Get to work, stop yelling here. If you delay your work in the fields because of watching the commotion, your work points will still be deducted."
Cheng Chao naturally wanted to eat at Jian Dan's place. Cheng Chao, Xiao Wu, Jian Dan, and Lin Dongfang, who were close to him, originally didn't want to freeload here, since it was a time of food shortage and who had much food to spare.
However, after being persuaded by Jian Yi and with Lin Dongfang's entreaties, they all stayed.
With Cheng Chao around, Jian Danchi became completely idle. Cheng Chao was there to do the work, and Xiao Wu was there to cook. Lin Dongfang and the others wanted to help out, but they couldn't get a chance.
Lin Dongfang was familiar with this arrangement, but the others were still a bit confused. Who would have the boys do the work and the girls rest, and do it so casually?
Ling Weidong looked at the busy figures, lost in thought.
Just as they set the table in the yard, they heard a "putt-putt" sound outside the door. The group exchanged glances. Had they arrived?
Cheng Chao simply went straight to the door.
"It's here?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
