Chapter 43 Mobilization
The movie shown today is called "The Song of the Army Reclamation".
The audience packed the venue to capacity; there wasn't enough room on the long benches, and people were crowding around the area.
Many people in the crowd had seen the movie before, but watching it again for free was still very appealing.
You have to pay to watch a movie normally, so why not take advantage of the free one? Every family comes with their own little group to enjoy this freebie.
It was already time to leave work, and Song Lubai and her colleagues had nothing else to do. Unable to find any empty seats, they could only stand on the sidelines in the crowd and watch.
Xiao Yan pulled a handful of fragrant roasted pumpkin seeds from her pocket and shared half with Song Lubai.
As darkness fell completely, colorful images lit up before everyone's eyes, and rousing music resounded throughout the space, eliciting gasps of amazement.
Most movies shown in cinemas are black and white. Although there are color movies, many people are seeing a color movie for the first time, especially young children and the elderly who have never been to a cinema before. When they see the color screen, they don't even want to blink.
As soon as the movie started, everyone automatically shut up.
With rousing and cheerful music as background, the scene is filled with the sounds of flowing water, fragrant wheat fields, soldiers sweating profusely, and the roar of machinery, exuding an atmosphere of struggle and hard work.
The traces of the soldiers of the Production and Construction Corps can be found in the Gobi Desert and on the barren grasslands.
The Corps guards the border along the long border; they open up oases in the vast desert where sandstorms rage, plant hope, and build a green "Great Wall"; they create agricultural miracles on barren saline land; and they build new military reclamation cities in the desolate Gobi Desert.
They conquered saline-alkali lands and Gobi deserts, planting trees, building water conservancy projects, cultivating grains and cotton, and establishing livestock farms, transforming barren lands into lush green landscapes covered with trees, fruits, grains, and cotton.
For more than a decade, under the wise leadership of the Party and with the strong support of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang Province, they have transformed the desolate Gobi Desert into a rich oasis, armed with both wooden guns and hoes.
Looking at the words on the screen, Song Lubai felt a surge of intense emotions.
At this moment, she understood her cousin Chang Zhenzhen, because after watching the movie, she also felt a strong urge.
The movie had a profound impact on her.
What was once barren land can be transformed into a place abundant in cotton and grain through human effort.
Every person wielding farm tools in the movie is incredibly capable; they are the ones who have changed Xinjiang Province, and these people deserve to be seen by everyone.
As the movie ended and everyone was preparing to leave, a middle-aged man walked up to the screen.
"Everyone, wait a minute, listen to me, be quiet, it won't take up much of your time."
Everyone sat back down.
Was the movie good?
Many people answered loudly, "It looks great!"
The middle-aged man smiled. "After more than a decade of hard work, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and Regiment have achieved self-sufficiency. Everyone has enough to eat and a place to live. Because the land there is so vast, more people are needed for construction. Compared to there, we face significant housing and employment pressures here. Many young people lack job opportunities, and many young couples have to wait a long time to be allocated housing after marriage. But in Xinjiang Province, there is no employment or housing pressure. Once you go there, you become a worker, are provided with housing, and have enough to eat every day..."
As the middle-aged man spoke more and more, the crowd began to ask, "Is it true?"
The middle-aged man declared firmly, "Of course it's true!"
The mobilization lasted for another twenty minutes after the movie ended.
The public's longing for XJ was ignited, and many people asked a lot of questions related to XJ, mostly focusing on the two key points of work and housing.
As Song Lubai felt a longing, she heard a murmur from the crowd, "What's the use of saying all that nice things? When you get there, you'll just be doing farm work. People who leave their hometowns have cheap lives. It's not easy to come back from thousands of miles away. Who knows what kind of life they're living over there? We can't just listen to your stories."
Song Lubai's turbulent emotions calmed down a bit.
Yes, yes, we're thousands of miles from home. We can't just do something impulsively based on a surge of enthusiasm.
It was already completely dark, and most households had turned off their lights and gone to sleep by this time.
Ever since Liu Mei's family came that day, gossip about her family has been circulating in the tenement building. Song Lubai has been attracting extra attention whenever she goes out in the morning, so she has been coming home quite late these past few days.
At first glance, only a few households in the tenement building still had their lights on.
After being stopped by Granny Liu last time, she was stopped again downstairs tonight.
The person who stopped her today was Lin Shuhong.
Song Lubai clutched her pounding heart. "What are you doing blocking the way here? Trying to scare someone to death?"
Her voice was loud, which made her seem very arrogant.
Lin Shuhong rubbed her hands together: "It was my fault, but I came to find you..."
Song Lubai didn't give him a chance to finish speaking, "If you came to me about Liu Mei, I advise you not to waste your time. I have no power to get Liu Mei released, and even if I did, I wouldn't do it. People who do wrong deserve to be punished! I advise you not to waste your time either."
Lin Shuhong: "We're family, after all. That's your sister-in-law..."
Song Lubai spat and said, "As expected, one is influenced by one's company. I'm asking you, do you know what Liu Mei and her family did?"
She stared intently at Lin Shuhong, and seeing his evasive gaze and inability to speak, she spat again, "You two are birds of a feather! You still have the nerve to come looking for me? I owe you something!"
Lin Shuhong angrily raised her hand to slap her, but Song Lubai turned and ran upstairs.
After running a few steps, she turned back and yelled, "Go ahead and catch up if you dare!"
After hesitating and struggling for a few seconds, the courageous Lin Shuhong followed.
As soon as the door opened, Song Lubai covered her face and cried out, "Mom, Uncle, Lin Shuhong slapped me! He hit me!"
Lin Shuhong, who followed behind, retorted, "You're talking nonsense! I didn't even touch you!"
Song Lubai covered her face, "You say you didn't hit her, so you didn't hit her? For Liu Mei, what's the difference between you and someone who's gone mad?"
Amidst everyone's surprised gazes, Lin Dahai, with a stern face, stepped forward and slapped Lin Shuhong across the face.
The slap was so loud that the air seemed to freeze.
For a moment, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Lin Dahai asked, his voice suppressed, "How far are you going to go for Liu Mei? You're going to disown everyone? If we don't get a divorce, I'll never acknowledge you. Get out of here now."
Lin Shuhong's eyes were red. "Dad, Liu Mei's mother is going to hang herself at my doorstep. What am I supposed to do?"
Lin Dahai: "Then let her die. Once she's dead, everything will be clean!"
No one expected Lin Dahai to say such heartless words.
Song Lubai, however, thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.
To be honest, after living under the same roof for so many years, this is the time when she finds Lin Dahai the most agreeable.
Lin Shuhong let out a pained howl like a wild beast, "What about my children? They can't be without a mother..."
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