Chapter 93 Good Days
Today is a good day.
The sky was clear and the scorching sun hung high, casting its intense heat upon the parched land.
Everyone in the camp was as enthusiastic as the sun today.
Today is the second day off this month. Yesterday was a good day because the main canal completed its first target. As a couple got married, we got an extra day off this time.
Yesterday, Zhao Aiguo went to the farm headquarters and brought back thirty kilograms of pork and a bag of white flour.
The female cooks were busy early this morning.
Today is different from past holidays. Although we still have two meals, we're not eating dry biscuits, but rather vegetables with meat and steamed buns.
Eight couples got married at once. The young people from the area had never seen anything like it before, and everyone was quite excited.
Under the shed, there was a large table with portraits of the host and the head chef on it, as well as plates of melon seeds and sugar. Many large watermelons were rolling around under the table, and on the wall not far away, there were papers covered with quotations.
The camp only prepared meals today and did not decorate new rooms for the newlyweds.
Because the camp simply didn't have the necessary conditions.
Each dugout houses at least five people. The number of dugouts is limited, and brick houses are under construction. There is really no need to waste manpower digging dugouts for the newcomers.
Today's ceremony is over, and the newlyweds are now officially married. They will formally live together as a family after they are allocated their brick houses.
Before the ceremony began, the girls in the cooking squad prepared the dishes and divided them into bowls. After they finished, several of the girls who were getting married quickly went down from the dugout to change into their most presentable clothes and put on the big red flowers they had been given when they came to support the border region. After they were dressed and tidied up, the instructor stood in front of the table.
"Today is a good day. We are all gathered here to witness the birth of eight couples whose relationship transcends revolution and friendship. Come, come, you eight couples, come forward."
The sixteen new recruits, all with embarrassed smiles on their faces, took their seats next to the instructor.
The instructor said sternly, "You will follow me. I will say a sentence and you will repeat it. The words spoken and the oaths taken before the Lord and the Chairman must not be broken until death..."
Not only were the newlyweds solemn and respectful, but the crowd below also listened with reverence, looking at the portrait of the great man and feeling grateful for his words.
With the most important procedures completed, the instructor smiled and looked at the eight couples, "Is there anything you'd like to say to everyone?"
With so many people watching, the newcomers were embarrassed. Tractor driver Zhao Aiguo said, "I have no other wish but that our company will have a bumper harvest in the future and that everyone can have enough to eat."
Some men below started to jeer, "If you don't have anything else to say, then we have something to say. We wish everyone on stage a speedy arrival of a chubby baby."
The newlyweds blushed with embarrassment, and the women wished they could disappear into the ground.
After a while, Lu Shuangshuang, the most beautiful girl in the cooking squad, said, "I have something else to say. I have a simple wish: I hope that all the male comrades can get married."
These words resonated deeply with the male comrades below.
Women are in high demand!
Each time the farm headquarters received young women who came to support the border regions, the number of women assigned to each grassroots company was limited.
And the gay men who are able to get married are usually quite capable.
Either you stand out among the group of men in the company, like tractor driver Zhao Aiguo, or you are tall and handsome, seem reliable, and are not too old, like the other men on stage.
As for other ordinary gay men, they are "eliminated" in the selection process and are forced into an awkward, powerless, yet hopeful situation.
At the end of the ceremony, the instructor raised his arm and shouted: "Look forward, look forward, don't be afraid of difficulties and persevere, fight for the cause of communism!"
"Let's start eating."
As soon as he finished speaking, a bright light flashed.
Song Lubai saw a man with a camera taking pictures of the newlyweds in the crowd.
Unexpectedly, the company even invited someone to take photos today.
Today's main dish is white steamed buns mixed with a small amount of whole grain flour. Because there is not much whole grain flour, the steamed buns look whiter and taste quite different.
The side dish is stir-fried cabbage with sliced pork.
The meat slices were cut very thinly, so the amount of meat in each bowl looked exceptionally large.
What's even more different from usual is that we're drinking baijiu (Chinese liquor) today.
The men were drinking, talking loudly, and laughing loudly.
The wedding feast finally came to an end when everyone had finished eating all the food in the bowls and eaten the super sweet, juicy watermelon.
It's only a little past three o'clock. If I want to go to the farm headquarters, I can still make it back before dark. But I can't take the tractor today; I'll have to walk.
While the hesitant girls huddled together discussing whether or not to go to the field headquarters, Song Lubai brought along the person with a camera hanging around their neck.
"If anyone wants photos, he can take a few more. Let's take them all, and we'll print an extra copy from the negatives for six cents."
Six cents is something everyone can afford, but taking a photo doesn't just cost six cents.
"Comrade, how was it calculated?"
The photographer fiddled with his camera and said, "I only brought two rolls of film today. The last one was already full of twelve shots, and the second roll has seven shots left. The film is 1.8 yuan a roll, and the developing fee is 3 mao. It costs 6 fen to print an extra negative. We also have to factor in the camera's depreciation. I won't overcharge you. Give me 25 fen per photo. This lady wants to have a solo photo taken, but we can only take six shots now. Hurry up, I have to go back after we're done."
Song Lubai plans to take a solo photo, print out two copies, keep one for herself, and send the other back to her mother so that her mother and brothers can see how she is doing here.
Nobody dislikes taking photos. Twenty-five cents isn't cheap, but it's not unacceptable if you grit your teeth and pay.
Finally, the six women from the dugout took a group photo on a hill not far away.
If the photographer hadn't suggested that it would be best to have six or seven people in the frame, everyone, regardless of gender, would have wanted to take a quick, chaotic photo together.
The film ran out quickly, and the cameraman rode his bicycle back to the studio.
When the girls came down from the dugout and gathered to talk, Liu Gao and a few other male comrades shouted from outside.
They came to inform us of the list of girls who would be on patrol duty tonight.
Since the last incident, the company has organized personnel to patrol and keep watch at night.
A group of twelve people had to patrol the surrounding area several times at night to prevent any criminals from hiding nearby.
The camp has a huge gender imbalance, with almost every day there are nine men and three women patrolling together.
Today it happened to be the turn of Song Lubai and her two friends from the dugout to patrol, and Song Lubai took one of the spots.
Song Lubai felt that she was quite lucky.
Tomorrow is still a rest day. Although I won't be able to get a full night's sleep, at least I can catch my breath during the day. Unlike those who patrol and guard on workdays, who can't sleep well at night and have to do high-intensity physical labor the next day.
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