Chapter 8
Breaking corn requires skill, and Zhou Jiani is very familiar with this job, but she still accepted Tian Yumei's patient explanation, accepted this kindness, and demonstrated it neatly under her expectant gaze.
Tian Yumei smiled delightedly and encouraged him, "Comrade Jiani, you've done a great job. You've learned much faster than I did back then."
Zhou Jiani smiled: "Sister Yumei taught well."
Members of each team gathered one after another at the areas under their respective responsibility.
Sheng Hongshan, wearing a blue suit that had been washed to a pale color and was covered in patches, walked ahead with his chest puffed out and smoked his pipe. He pointed to the side and said to the person beside him: "Xiao Qiu, let's work on these ridges together. You follow me. It's okay to go slowly at first, don't get tired..."
Zhou Jiani turned around and saw Qiu Zeming following Sheng Hongshan.
A man as tall as a pine or cypress, carrying a large wicker basket on his shoulder and holding another in his hand, walked slowly with his long legs, just like Sheng Hongshan's rhythm.
Qiu Zeming acted politely and gently, with a faint smile on his handsome face, and said, "Okay, Uncle Hongshan, thank you for your concern."
Sheng Hongshan stood still at the edge of the field, chuckling, "You city kids are so nice to talk to, unlike us rough guys."
Xiang Xiang added, "You also have to rely on others."
Qiu Zeming and Zhou Jiani nodded and looked away.
Zhou Jiani also looked away. She didn't expect that she was assigned to the same team as Qiu Zeming and they were working next to each other.
In her previous life, she hadn't had a deep impression of Qiu Zeming. He didn't stay long before passing the exam to become a private teacher at the town's primary school. Although he would come back to work during the busy farming season, the two of them had little interaction and rarely ran into each other.
Later I heard that he was recruited and sent away.
This is different from being a teacher. When you are a teacher, your household registration is still in the rural area, but when you are recruited as a soldier, you take your household registration with you.
At that time, some educated youth were indignant because according to regulations, they had to stay on the farm for two years before they were eligible for recruitment into the army, school, or employment in the city.
In addition to this basic condition, it must also go through layers of recommendations, from the production team to the commune, and then to the county educated youth office and the corresponding units for review and approval.
It seemed that it had been less than two years since Qiu Zeming left to recruit soldiers, and he did so quietly and no one knew who he had taken.
Thinking of the elementary school teacher recruitment exam after the New Year, Zhou Jiani felt moved.
Being a teacher doesn’t require you to get up early and go to bed late, you have a lot of free time, and it’s relaxing.
However, this qualification is not something that can be obtained just by signing up. The brigade held a meeting to ask the members to recommend you, and only those with good relationships with the masses would be selected.
Registration is only the first hurdle. One must also take a unified examination, achieve excellent results, and be interviewed by the commune leaders before one can obtain one of the few qualifications.
Last time she didn’t even get her name registered. Liu Ailing had good connections with the people and was able to register, but she didn’t pass the exam.
Almost everyone arrived one after another, except for those who were carrying baskets and those who were holding sickles. Team leader Sheng Hongkai came over to check on the personnel, then gave an order and everyone started to move.
The corn leaves were softened by the dew in the morning, and they felt damp, cool and rough when they rubbed against my face and body.
Zhou Jiani made sure to stay about one meter behind Tian Yumei, maintaining this pace and trying hard to keep up with the progress.
Behind them, an auntie who was in charge of cutting corn stalks in the fields smiled and said, "This new girl is picking up the pieces pretty quickly."
Tian Yumei also turned to look and said with a smile, "Looks like she's working." She then warned, "But don't try to be too stubborn. You might not be able to lift your arms this afternoon."
A ladder was set up for Zhou Jiani in advance.
"Okay!" Zhou Jiani gave him a grateful smile and reached out to brush away the corn leaves that had brushed against her face.
The woman cutting corn stalks was called Liu Cuiyun. Seeing Zhou Jiani looking a bit disheveled, she kindly said, "Girl, get yourself a straw hat." She then pointed to her faded square scarf and said, "If you don't mind its appearance, you can wear another scarf to protect your neck and face. But I know you young people don't like to wear things like that."
Tian Yumei turned around and smiled as she helped her chop off a few leaves that were in the way. She said, "We still have to be armed. It's better now with the dew on. Once the sun comes out and dries them up, these corn leaves will be like little knives, cutting you in pieces."
Zhou Jiani nodded in agreement: "Our village supply and marketing cooperative should have them, right? I'll go check it out after work."
The words 'our village' drew a glance from Qiu Zeming next door, and also brightened Liu Cuiyun's face. She smiled and said, "I don't know about scarves, but we definitely have straw hats. However, at this point, the only ones left should be printed. They're beautiful, but expensive, and you young people all want something nice. If you want something cheap and good-looking, braid your own hair and take it to a straw hat processing workshop. They'll press it out for you, then print and print it. It's a few cents cheaper than buying a ready-made one."
Liu Cuiyun opened the conversation, her hands moving non-stop, and said, "If you want to buy the ones we wear, you can go to Zhang Laosi's house and exchange two eggs for one."
"Tell me, Zhang Laosi's craftsmanship is the best. He presses the same as those made in the workshop. The supply and marketing cooperative accepts goods from him and inspects each one carefully. No one else can do that..."
In her previous life, Zhou Jiani had never paid attention to the craftsmen in the village. This time, she heard a lot from Liu Cuiyun. Zhang Laosi had good weaving skills and knew a lot of things. He could make baskets, baskets, winnowing baskets, dustpans, steamer grates, etc. These were all crafts passed down from his ancestors.
"If I have time during breakfast, I'll go to the Zhang that Auntie mentioned... What should I call her?"
"Well, it's okay to call him Grandpa or Uncle, but just call him Fourth Uncle. That's what the young people in the village call him."
Zhou Jiani smiled: "Okay, I'll go check it out later."
Liu Cuiyun smiled and praised: "You are such a well-behaved girl, you don't have any city airs at all."
Zhou Jiani shrank her neck guiltily and raised her eyes subconsciously, meeting Qiu Zeming's slightly mischievous smile. Her face turned red and she glared at him.
Qiu Zeming lowered his head, snapped, and broke off a corn.
Team leader Sheng Hongkai came over to check their work progress. Seeing that the two new educated youth in their group were doing a good job, he nodded with satisfaction, took out a tattered notebook from his pocket, took out a piece of pencil, and lowered his head to write something.
Liu Cuiyun stretched her neck to look and said, "Hong Kai, please don't write nonsense. These two children are working very hard."
Sheng Hongkai said helplessly: "Sister Cuiyun, I didn't write anything nonsense. Let's seek truth from facts."
After writing, he put it in his pocket, looked at the two newcomers approvingly, said a few words of encouragement, and turned and left.
Not long after, the team leader came over with the scorer and took another look at their progress with a satisfied expression.
Zhou Jiani carried the baskets half full to the edge of the field three or four times. On the fifth trip, she lifted a handful but couldn't pull it. Her arms were sore and she felt a little weak.
A hand reached out from the side, grabbed her basket, poured the corn into another basket, picked it up and strode out.
Only after Qiu Zeming came back did Zhou Jiani thank him shyly.
"You're welcome."
His pace slowed down unnaturally, and he didn't have the energy to ask Liu Cuiyun about the gossip of other people. He just mechanically cracked the corn in silence.
But the two local members expressed their understanding.
Sheng Hongshan also said: "It's the first time for a girl to go out to the fields. This is good. Take it easy."
It's not like he's being lazy on purpose. Besides, he's been working so far without a single complaint. He's much better than the two educated youth I led in the previous batch.
When the gong sounded for the end of work, Zhou Jiani let her arms droop down and let out a long sigh. Her small body had been pampered for more than ten years and didn't seem very strong at first glance.
Liu Cuiyun enthusiastically helped Zhou Jiani carry the basket and called everyone out: "Let's go, let's go back and eat."
Zhou Jiani thanked him gratefully and tried to carry him herself, but Liu Cuiyun pushed her away, saying, "How can you carry me? It's still early today."
"Thank you, auntie." Zhou Jiani felt a little warm in her heart.
After handing over the corn, they left the baskets here. There was someone on duty watching over it, and everyone went home in a mighty procession.
Tian Yumei walked with Zhou Jiani and said with a smile, "It's not easy, is it?"
Zhou Jiani nodded, put her arm around Tian Yumei, and said, "Thank you, Sister Yumei."
She could hear that someone was trying to build a ladder for her, so even if her progress was a little slower in the afternoon, no one would say anything.
Tian Yumei whispered, "We are all educated youth, so please help if you can."
The two parted ways at the entrance of the village.
Zhou Jiani was almost at Huihui's house when she ran into Zhao Mei, who hurried over to ask, "How are you? Are you exhausted? Where are Comrade Sun Ping and Comrade Yu Wanxia?"
Zhou Jiani nodded and shook her head: "I didn't see them."
Zhang Huihui had returned early. Children from poor families have to grow up early, so she came back to help her father cook.
Seeing my mother and Zhou Jiani come in together, I hurriedly ran around to help them get water.
“Thank you, Huihui.”
Zhou Jiani bent down to wash her face, but even after gathering a handful of water, she couldn't get it onto her face. She felt that her arms couldn't bend anymore.
Sun Ping and Yu Wanxia also dragged their legs into the room. They were both exhausted and their faces did not look very good.
Sun Ping held her hand up to show Zhou Jiani. The base of her left hand was red and swollen, and somehow the skin was a little scratched.
Yu Wanxia sat there in a daze, looking like she wanted to cry.
Zhou Jiani encouraged everyone with a smile: "You've never done heavy work before, so you may not be able to adapt at first, but you'll be fine after a few days."
Zhao Mei helped them bring breakfast into the house and comforted them, "Eat something and rest for a while, and you'll feel much better."
During the meal, the chopsticks in Yu Wanxia's hand slipped to the ground unconsciously. She was completely stunned. She was stunned for a long time before bending down to pick them up. When she lowered her head again, tears fell from her eyes.
The atmosphere at the table was silent for a moment. Sun Ping, with a mouthful of steamed bread, lay down on the table and cried silently.
Zhou Jiani held the bowl in both hands and drank the cornmeal porridge mouthful by mouthful without saying a word for a long time.
After the meal, everyone calmed down, but their eyes were still a little dull.
Time was running out, and there was work to be done. Zhou Jiani asked softly, "Do you want to buy some straw hats?"
She mentioned Liu Cuiyun's suggestion. Yu Wanxia and Sun Ping nodded, sniffed, and said in a muffled voice, "Yes, let's go to that Uncle Zhang's house."
Zhou Jiani also preferred Zhang Laosi's shop, to see the craftsmanship and to become familiar with it.
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