Chapter 117 Idea
The atmosphere eased up, and soon Li Huijun from the vegetable planting team returned with Lin Jinyao. The baskets they carried were filled with tomatoes and cucumbers.
Li Huijun's heart was bleeding.
It's harvest time in the vegetable fields right now, and the production team was finally able to get some extra vegetables, but then these uninvited guests came and took their vegetables.
Seeing that the group of people who had started eating tomatoes and cucumbers were no longer looking this way, Song Lubai went to the company commander and political instructor and said, "Tomorrow, find someone to notify the farm headquarters and call the First Division Farm to tell their company that if they want to take everyone away, they have to bring grain with them."
The group has run away, and the first division won't ignore it.
These people ate the food from the 25th Company, and they can't just eat it for free. Their demand for food is reasonable; it's not robbery.
The company commander and political instructor's composed faces immediately became lively.
Yes, if you eat their food, you have to pay them back. How can you eat it for free?
Song Lubai added, "We can't let them be idle. If they're idle, they're likely to cause trouble. We'll send them to work in the fields first thing tomorrow morning."
Wang Haiquan nodded approvingly, "That's exactly how it should be."
The company commander, feeling ashamed of his own stupidity, slapped his forehead and said, "Why didn't I think of that?"
Wang Haiquan: "You do things too conventionally."
The instructor praised, "Young people are indeed quick-witted."
Song Lubai modestly flattered him: "I've learned a lot from the instructor recently. You are a role model. Even if I don't say it, you will figure it out sooner or later."
The instructor laughed heartily and looked at Wang Haiquan, saying, "Xiao Song is quite shrewd and a talented person. I'd like to keep her in the company."
Wang Haiquan snorted, "What's the difference between keeping her in the company and harming her? I remember when she first came, she was very fair-skinned. Now, she looks dark and thin, like a malnourished little girl. A high school student is an educated person; how can she stay here every day?"
Song Lubai was stung by Wang Haiquan's words.
Dark-skinned, thin, malnourished, and with a yellowish complexion—is this really her? Please give her a mirror so she can see what she looks like now!
As the group was talking, Li Huijun and Lu Shuangshuang approached.
Li Huijun looked at the company commander and said, "Liu Xiaolan has already gone to the fields to call for help."
Song Lubai breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she and Liu Xiaolan still had some tacit understanding.
Lu Shuangshuang glared at Song Lubai and said impatiently, "Company Commander, the food we made this afternoon is only enough for our own people. There's not enough for these thirty-odd people. Are we really going to share it with them? How will our own people get enough to eat?"
"Song Lubai, do you think you're in charge of the company? You think you can just give them food whenever you want? Who do you think you are?"
Song Lubai said expressionlessly, "I'm nothing, but if they try to steal our food before our people come back, are you going to be the one to take the lead?"
Lu Shuangshuang put her hands on her hips: "If you say they're stealing food, then they'll..."
The company commander interrupted her with a headache: "Alright, we have our own ideas about this. You guys add some more water to the soup, mix in some mixed grain flour, and make some unleavened flatbread."
Unleavened flatbread is made from dough that has not been fermented.
Knead the dough, flatten it into a thin pancake, heat the pan, and without adding oil, simply spread the pancake on the pan. Once cooked, it's ready to eat.
Unleavened flatbread is easy to make and doesn't take long.
Lu Shuangshuang glared at Song Lubai again before turning and leaving.
Less than half an hour later, the main force returned in a menacing manner, carrying farm tools, after Liu Xiaolan tipped them off.
The thirty-odd people who had escaped saw the hundred or so people and unconsciously shrank their ranks, crowding together. They were no longer the ferocious people who had been staring at the stove earlier.
The leader, an old veteran of the reclamation army, stared at the group and said, "I heard you want to stay in our company?"
One of the men in the group mustered his courage and shouted, "What's wrong? Can't we live in brick houses too!"
The old veteran spat out a mouthful of saliva: "If you want to stay, you have to work. You'll be going to the fields with us first thing tomorrow morning."
As the main force approached the camp, Zhao Aiguo received instructions from the company commander. He first went to find his own men and explained the instructions to them.
If they don't make things clear, their main force will have to fight this group when they return.
“Fine, we’ll do it, but it’s settled then, if we’re going to work, you have to agree to let us stay here.”
With their own people back, the company commander was no longer afraid of them. "Whether you stay or not is not up to me. We'll have to wait for your leaders to arrive before we can negotiate. For now, you can live like us. Do your work, eat your meals, and follow the rules at night. You can only stay in the newly built houses over there and can't wander around."
The company commander only wanted to negotiate with their leaders about how much food they needed to ransom the people; he had no intention of keeping them.
Before dinner, the company commander specifically asked the captain on duty that night to keep a close eye on this group of people.
They're outsiders, after all; who knows if they might steal food in the middle of the night and then run away?
These thirty-odd people are mostly men. Who knows if there are any men of questionable character among them? What if something happens to the women in the company?
Before long, it was time to eat.
There's definitely not enough food for today, so the company commander said to distribute the food to their own men first.
Those who were on the same side received a mixed grain rice with vegetable soup, while those who had fled received unleavened flatbread with vegetable soup.
Those who fled were naturally dissatisfied.
Fearing they might cause trouble, the company commander reassured them, "I didn't expect you to come when I was cooking this afternoon. You're lucky to have anything to eat today. Tomorrow morning, everyone will have the same food. Besides, you already had tomatoes and cucumbers, so don't be ungrateful."
The group then gave up.
Song Lubai filled a lunchbox with rice and a bowl with soup. She then scooped a small portion of the rice into the bowl, set aside a small bowl of rice soaked in vegetable soup, and handed it to Lin Jinyao.
Fortunately, Song Lubai isn't doing farm work now, so her physical exertion isn't as great. Eating less for the next few days shouldn't be a problem.
She didn't want to have any interaction with Lin Jinyao. Before sending her away, all she could do was make sure Lin Jinyao had something to eat.
Lin Jinyao ate her share.
Since everyone saw that she didn't take more food than she was entitled to, there was no dissatisfaction.
The camp was quiet at night, and the watchman could occasionally hear the sound of swatting mosquitoes coming from inside the house.
The group of escapees were very well-behaved at night; they neither came out to steal food nor wandered around the camp.
Nothing happened that night.
When the whistle blew, everyone yawned and got up.
Those who had escaped were also woken up, received bread and farm tools, and then went to the fields with the main force.
With no one causing trouble, the company commander and his men breathed a sigh of relief.
“Aiguo, you need to go to the farm headquarters and report the situation. No, no, I have to go with you. I still need to ask them for grain. If they don’t bring the grain over, we absolutely cannot release them.”
The First and Sixth Divisions are not close to each other; it takes more than two days to walk there. If you call from the headquarters, the headquarters of the First Division will have to go down to the company to inform the company commander. The earliest they can arrive is tomorrow. The company commander is determined to make enough food for 32 people for 12 meals over four days, and he will try to earn as much as he can.
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