Chapter 99 Breaking News
I didn't feel how cold it was when I was at home, but as soon as I opened the door, the cold wind blew towards my face, and the biting cold was not just talk.
The road was lined with withered yellow weeds that clung to the ground, making a "crunching" sound when stepped on.
Sun Ye couldn't stand this sound the most. Every time he heard it, his teeth would unconsciously clench tightly and goose bumps would appear all over his body.
Therefore, Sun Ye tries to go out as little as possible in winter, and if he goes out, he must always pay attention to the weeds under his feet.
People on the road wrapped themselves tightly in thick cotton-padded jackets. Some of their jackets were torn, revealing the yellow and black cotton wool inside, which they stuffed with straw just to keep warm.
"The leaves are back."
People she met along the way would inevitably ask this question as an opening greeting. Then Sun Ye smiled and nodded. Later on, it was discovered that she was wrapped in a thick scarf, and no one could see whether she was smiling or not.
Sun Ye followed behind Sun Ma without saying a word, just listening to what Sun Ma and the others were saying silently.
"It's so cold, what's so urgent that we have to come out now? Why do we have to get everyone together? We're all going to the grain field to suffer the northwest wind, don't you think?"
An auntie was walking and stamping her feet, and from time to time she took out her hands and blew on them. The moment she blew, visible white steam came out and dissipated in the air.
It can be said that there is a puff of white mist in front of every person.
Sun Ye felt cold even with his hands in his pockets, so he was in a hurry to come out and wrapped himself in a scarf. As for his gloves, they were still safely placed in the house.
"The captain must have something wrong. We'll find out when we get there."
"Hey, have you eaten yet? Mine's still on the stove, just about to start cooking. Luckily I didn't fry it, otherwise, it would be cold by the time we get home from the meeting."
The auntie just complained, and when Sun Ma said this, she changed the subject and immediately continued:
"Oh, who said it wasn't? I just served it to the table. I cooked a little later than usual today, and I didn't expect to encounter this."
No wonder this aunt was so resentful. It turned out that she hadn't eaten yet, just like my family, and her situation was even worse than mine.
“…”
Mother Sun didn't expect that she had hit someone's lungs so hard that she could only say comfortingly:
"I don't know how long it will take. If it doesn't take too long, maybe I can still catch it when I get back."
"I hope so."
As we were talking, more and more people came. There were almost one hundred to two hundred people in the forward team, which was considered a relatively large team.
A crowd of people gathered in the threshing ground, and the sounds of greetings and whistles were everywhere. It was obvious that those who could whistle were the young people.
Sun Ye followed his mother closely, frowned slightly as he listened to the mixed noise, and lowered his head. The wind blew on the tall people, making the shorter ones feel warmer.
The new generation of children were screaming and noisy in the field, as if coming out for some fresh air and a meeting was some great fun. Their childish laughter could be heard from one end to the other.
Mother Sun looked around the entire square, searching for Old Lady Sun. Even if she could just see Mrs. Sun or Uncle Sun, that would be good.
It was strange. After looking for a long time without finding any trace of the person, Sun's mother took Sun Ye to wander around.
As for Sun Lin, when he arrived at the grain field, he went to look for his usual companions. These young men who were not yet married did not want to be crowded together with their parents and had their own place to go.
The reason why Sun Ye was brought along was because she was a girl, and a beautiful one at that. There were many people in the threshing ground, and there was no guarantee that there might be someone with bad intentions.
Although they were in the same team and saw each other every day, there were still some minor conflicts between them. If something happened in public, Sun Ye's reputation would be ruined.
"Mom, my aunt and the others are over there." Sun Ye first discovered the location of Old Lady Sun and the others, so he tugged at Sun's mother's sleeve and pointed to a big tree with all its leaves fallen.
"Where, where?"
Upon hearing this, Grandma Sun turned around and looked in the direction Sun Ye pointed. Only then did she realize that Grandma Sun and the eldest family were all over there, waving at her.
Mother Sun held Sun Ye's hand and climbed over the crowd. It took a lot of effort to reach Old Lady Sun's position.
"Sister-in-law, it's so hard for me to find it. I've been looking for a long time. It's only because Ye Zi's eyes are sharp that I can find it. Otherwise, it would have taken me quite a while."
Mother Sun walked forward familiarly, stood in front of the aunt, and spoke jokingly.
"What are you talking about? I've been seeing you for a while now. I've been calling you but you're running in the opposite direction. It really makes me anxious."
Sun Ye came out from behind Sun Ma and called out to Old Lady Sun sweetly and sweetly:
"Grandma, great aunt."
"Ye Zi is on vacation now. When did you come back? Why didn't you come to the old house to see grandma? Did you forget about her?"
Old lady Sun sang, recited, acted and performed with such cadence in her voice that Sun Ye couldn't help laughing with his eyes curved with smile.
"How could that be? I miss grandma so much. I just got home and haven't had time to go. Grandma, you are wronging me."
Sun Ye walked quickly to the side of Old Lady Sun, naturally put his arm around her arm, and shook it coquettishly.
Originally, Sun Ye didn't know how to do these movements, but after seeing Sister Miaomiao using them for a long time and seeing the good results, she couldn't help but feel tempted.
Sure enough, as long as you can overcome your inner shyness, you will be in a good mood, and the person being acted coquettishly to will also feel good.
“…”
Before Old Lady Sun could say anything, a "little madman" came running towards them from a distance. People on the road hurried to avoid her, but they couldn't avoid her. The petite figure was moving around flexibly, like a swimming fish, slippery and unstoppable.
"leaf!"
A delicate cry was heard, and Sun Ye unconsciously straightened his body and stabilized his lower body. This series of physical reactions was completely a conditioned reflex.
Just as Sun Ye was getting ready, a huge human-shaped pendant was hung heavily around his neck.
“Leaf, leaf, leaf, leaf…”
The endless chatter showed the owner's immense joy. Sun Ye pulled the corner of his mouth helplessly, pulled off the person clinging to him, and said:
"Sister Miaomiao, there's no need to shout so many times. I can hear you."
"snort!"
Sister Miaomiao snorted proudly, but her arm was honestly holding Sun Ye's arm.
…
Almost everyone is here!
The captain on the stage was already ready. He picked up a large loudspeaker and tried to see if it was working properly. It was a necessary step, as if he couldn't speak without trying it.
The threshing ground suddenly became quiet. Everyone looked at the captain on the stage, wondering what was going on that required him to come out in such a cold weather.
"Everyone, I won't say any more nonsense. I have received instructions from my superiors. Our land..."
"What's wrong, Captain?"
"That's right."
"Don't complain yet. The land we farmed can be divided. Next year, everyone can farm their own land. No work points will be counted. In other words, no one can control you whether you are lazy or diligent. You can eat as much as you work, and the harvest from the land will not be wasted..."
"Captain, you're not wrong. Are we really going to divide the land?"
"What! Divide the land? How do we divide it..."
“I can grow whatever I want…”
"Then I want that piece of land by the river, and no one can take it from me."
"Bullshit, the land by the river is the most fertile, how can I give it all to you." If you have to give anything, give it to me.
“…”
The crowd was in an uproar. Everyone was discussing and arguing with each other, their faces flushed, and they managed to make the cold air hot and even more exciting.
Sun Ye had not expected that it would be such a big deal, concerning the livelihood of his entire family. In rural areas, farmers regard land as their lifeline and will not tolerate any neglect.
However, this is beneficial to their current situation. They will have a lot of freedom in what to plant in the future. First of all, they must plant millet, rice, sweet potatoes, and corn to fill their stomachs.
"Hey, everyone, stop for a moment, stop for a moment!"
It took two tries to suppress the noise, but there were still some whispers from the audience. The captain couldn't care less and simply turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.
"Today, I want to discuss this with everyone first, and then tomorrow morning we'll send someone to measure the land and figure out how to divide it up. My idea for the brigade is to divide it by household, one share per household. Some families have more people, some have fewer, so we can also divide them into different levels..."
Sun Ye finally understood that the land would be distributed according to household registration and also based on the number of people. This was fine as there were still talented people in the team.
"Oh, by the way, if you cultivate the barren mountains and wild lands in our team yourself, you can be exempted from paying grain taxes for ten years. You can also contract a mountain or something, which means buying the right to use it from the government."
Sun Ye looked at the captain on the stage in disbelief. "Contract? Is that the contract she was thinking of?"
Now it was Sun Ye's turn to lose her composure. She wanted to contract the mountain and plant fruit trees and flowers on it. She thought that this dream would take a long time to realize, but now it is right in front of her and she can hold it in her arms with just a reach out.
However, contracting requires money, and she has no money.
Maybe there is a little money, but it is not enough to contract the mountain, and it is still far from being enough to contract the mountain.
Making money is an urgent matter.
The people in the team had no idea about contracting the mountain. The mountain was just there and there was nothing valuable on it. What was the point of contracting it? It would just be a waste of money.
They thought that no one would be so foolish as to take on the contract.
The captain announced the news and slipped back home quietly when no one was paying attention. If he didn't go home, he would be surrounded by the surging crowd. He used his decades of reputation as captain to guarantee it.
When the crowd came to their senses and prepared to ask some more questions, they found that the captain had already run away. They began to feel annoyed that they had not kept an eye on the captain. After all, he was a person with a criminal record, and everyone in the team was used to it.
Sun Ye's family followed Old Lady Sun back to the old house. Such an important matter as land division had to be discussed by the whole family together in the old house.
According to Sun Ye, no matter how the land is divided, there will be a period of wrangling. There will always be people who are dissatisfied and there will be a lot of trouble.
Sun Ye and Sun Miao followed behind, listening to the adults in front talking one after another. They thought that every family was in the same situation, and it was hard to tell whether it was more profitable to split up the family or not.
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