Chapter 268 Vegetable Garden
Song Lubai was a new face in the regiment headquarters, and not everyone knew Wei Yang, the regimental commander.
The regimental headquarters was about the same size as the brigade headquarters in his hometown commune. Song Lubai felt that it wouldn't be long before everyone living in the regimental farm would become familiar with her.
The two first went to the home of Deputy Regiment Commander Wu, which was nearby.
At this time, Deputy Regiment Commander Wu had just arrived home, and his family hadn't had time to cook yet.
Deputy Regiment Commander Wu is thirty-five years old, and his child is only five or six years old.
Deputy Regiment Commander Wu's wife, Deng Hong, made Song Lubai a cup of sugar water and pulled her to sit down. "I heard Wei Yang say he was going to Shicheng to pick up his wife. I was wondering what you looked like. Now that I see you, you and Wei Yang are both handsome. You must be a family."
Deng Hong's accent sounded like she was from Henan Province, which sounded friendly. After Song Lubai asked, she learned that she was from the neighboring Shandong Province.
After the two talked for a while, Song Lubai took out a few candies from her pocket and handed them to Deputy Regiment Commander Wu's child.
Wei Yang said, "Brother Wu, we're planning to have a simple meal tomorrow. If you're free, please come and have dinner."
Deputy Regiment Commander Wu said, "I have a lot of kids at home, so I won't go and cause you any trouble. I have some eggs at home, and I'll have my daughter bring them to you in a bit."
After exchanging a few more polite words, Wei Yang left with Song Lubai.
As soon as the door closed, Deng Hong pouted and said, "We've already delivered the eggs, why aren't you coming over for dinner yet? They've already come to our door."
She hadn't eaten meat in ages, and she figured there would definitely be meat tomorrow.
Deputy Regiment Commander Wu said, "If you want to go, I'll go too. You even want to bring your child. How much grain would his family have to cook for everyone? Look at you, so worthless. Go and cook some food."
Deng Hong said, "I'm worthless? Why don't you say that Wei Yang is younger than you and has a higher official rank? Haven't you thought about trying harder?"
Deputy Regiment Commander Wu said nonchalantly, "What's the point of me trying? They've all gone to military academy, while I'm just a roughneck with little education. It's too late to try now."
Everyone knew about Wei Yang's resume when he was first transferred here. Although he was young, he was not a naive person who had never seen blood and only knew how to talk.
Hearing Deng Hong still muttering, Deputy Regiment Commander Wu frowned and said, "Just stay calm for now, and keep your mouth shut when you go out."
On the other hand, the couple visited several other households, including those of Secretary Feng, Political Commissar Li, and the Deputy Minister of the Armed Forces Department.
All the people who needed to be visited have been visited, and the count shows that only five people will be coming tomorrow.
Political Commissar Li suggested setting up a table at a restaurant, but Wei Yang directly rejected the suggestion.
He must be out of his mind to have gone to a restaurant to host a banquet.
On the way, Song Lubai said, "Secretary Feng and Political Commissar Li are very nice. They live next door to each other and can still talk together after work."
Wei Yang glanced at her without saying anything, thinking to himself that she was quite perceptive.
There were several brick houses in the regimental headquarters, but some members of the regimental leadership, like Wei Yang, lived in mud-brick houses.
After walking around and observing the conditions inside the houses, Song Lubai felt that none of the households had much large furniture, so her house was not particularly eye-catching.
Song Lubai then asked, "What is your main job as the regimental commander?"
Wei Yang whispered, "Focus on production so that everyone in the regiment has food to eat."
This is his understanding.
Song Lubai shook her head slightly.
Wei Yang raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does shaking your head mean?"
Song Lubai said, "Let's talk about it once we're inside."
She didn't mean anything by it, she just felt that his job was difficult and that it would be hard to achieve anything significant.
At this stage, focusing on ideology is the mainstream approach, but focusing on production is not so easy.
When he got home, it wasn't dark yet. Wei Zhao sat at the door eating roasted potatoes and chatting with the neighbors around him.
Seeing the two of them return, she greeted them, "There are still a few potatoes in the stove. Have some if you're hungry."
There are no yards in front or behind these mud-brick houses. Some families have built a shed in front of the stove at the door, with firewood piled up under the shed. Other families have piled firewood on the side of the house. As for the back of the yard, there are vegetable gardens where some vegetables are grown.
The outhouse is about 300 meters away from here. In the middle of summer, the smell is enough to kill you if you get close.
There are many reed beds around the houses, and at first glance, it looks no different from a village.
"Commander Wei, you're finally back. This afternoon, someone from the regiment came and told us to demolish the vegetable garden behind the building. They said if it's still there when they come back tomorrow, they'll destroy it."
Song Lubai frowned as she listened.
If all the vegetables we worked so hard to grow are ruined, what will everyone eat? She dared to say that the supplies provided by the group would definitely not be enough to meet everyone's needs.
Wei Yang had read plenty of newspapers and documents beforehand, so the staff member who came to notify him today wasn't wrong.
But if it's ruined, everyone's life will definitely be difficult.
Once someone started, the neighbors all began to voice their opinions.
Wei Yang listened without changing his expression, and finally said, "I understand. Let's see about it tomorrow."
He already had a plan in mind, but he wouldn't make any promises to anyone until a meeting was held and the order was issued. After all, the situation was dire, and he wasn't entirely confident that it would work.
As he was about to turn and go inside, a woman shouted, "You're the regimental commander, you can't ignore everyone's lives. The green beans, gourds, and persimmons your sister and her child have been eating lately were all delivered by us."
Wei Zhao stood up and said, "I don't want it. If you force it on me, am I supposed to trade you for grain coupons?"
The woman continued, "No matter what, the vegetable garden behind us can't be destroyed."
Wei Zhao said, "Whether or not he is destroyed is not up to him alone. Everything depends on the policies and regulations from above. You don't want to destroy him, so you're making things difficult for him? Do you want him to make a mistake?"
The woman, her face flushed, said urgently, "What do you mean I don't want to destroy it? What will everyone eat if it's destroyed?"
Seeing that Wei Zhao was about to continue arguing with the other party, Wei Yang said, "I understand the situation. As for what to do next, we'll have to see the results of tomorrow's meeting."
After saying that, he went back into the house.
If this goes on and on, it'll never end; just thinking about it gives me a headache.
Song Lubai had already gone back to her room.
Seeing Wei Yang and Wei Zhao enter one after the other, and judging from their expressions, she remained silent for a moment.
Wei Zhao asked, "What are you going to do about this?"
Wei Yang said, "I know what I'm doing. I'll notify you of the meeting tomorrow morning when you go to work."
Wei Zhao said worriedly, "Why did they have to come now, right after you got back? I feel something's not right. Are they just waiting for you to object?"
Although Song Lubai thought Wei Zhao was being conspiratorial, upon closer examination she realized it was possible.
Wei Zhao pressed on relentlessly, "Stop pretending you know what you're planning to do!"
Wei Yang felt that her sister had an even stronger "official air" than she did, and just as she was about to speak, three children ran in.
"Auntie, you're a great cook, why don't you cook for us tonight?"
Wei Zhao had something on his mind, so he turned to the children and said, "Steam some cornbread later, and have some with the meat broth. Then go out and play."
Song Lubai stood up and said, "I'm going out to cook."
Wei Zhao said, "Let's not keep the bones. Those people don't deserve to eat them. Let's eat the steak quickly, and cut some meat tomorrow."
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