Chapter 26 Grain Harvesting "My name is Zhong Ying, Ying from Yingshan."...
The grain delivery team moved at a snail's pace, and the heat made Deng Xia increasingly impatient. Suddenly, she realized that her daughter, who had said she was going out for a stroll, had been gone for quite some time. She couldn't help but worry, "Xinzi, go and look for your sister. Why hasn't she come back yet?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xin's heart jumped, and he immediately ran in the direction his sister had left.
He ran all the way to the town's supply and marketing cooperative, searched the place, but couldn't find Zhong Ying. Zhong Xin got a little anxious. After waiting for the people buying cloth to leave, he immediately blocked the sales clerk's path.
"Young man, are you buying cloth? Did your parents give you cloth coupons?" the salesperson asked.
Zhong Xin, who was already sweating profusely under the sun, was now anxious and sweating even more. He said urgently, "I'm not buying cloth. I just wanted to ask if you saw a young girl with two braids earlier? She's my sister. She used to come to your supply and marketing cooperative to look at cloth every time she came to the commune, but she never bought any."
The sales clerk chuckled, "Now that you mention it, I can instantly think of several people."
Zhong Xin was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.
"Don't rush, tell me in more detail, what kind of fabric is your sister wearing today?" The saleswoman asked a question related to her work, trying to get her memory back.
Zhong Xin quickly replied, "The two-way shirt you're wearing is made of white fabric with blue flowers! The pants are made of ordinary black homespun cloth, with a patch of woven plaid fabric sewn onto the left knee."
"White fabric with blue flowers..." The saleswoman quickly remembered something, "You bought it at our supply and marketing cooperative last year during the Spring Festival, right? I vaguely remember it..."
Zhong Xin looked at her expectantly.
But the saleswoman then said, "But we haven't had a single girl dressed like that come into our supply and marketing cooperative today. Brother Du, do you remember her?"
The sales clerk at the candy counter next to it thought about it carefully and then shook her head.
Zhong Xin had no choice but to leave the supply and marketing cooperative and wander aimlessly through the streets.
Zhong Xin had searched everywhere but to no avail. Just as he was about to return to the grain station, he finally spotted Zhong Ying in the distance. Zhong Xin's eyes widened. What was his sister doing at the grain station entrance? And standing with the grain-collecting cadres?
This brings us back to what happened after the man and the two ghosts left Liuzhang Commune Middle School. Zhong Ying and Li Linshi were lagging behind, busy talking. Li Changgui had only walked this road once before, and when they went back, he was in the lead. Sure enough, they took the wrong turn and ended up going in a big circle, circling back to the grain station from another direction.
Zhong Ying gazed at the long line of people from the Tonggan Production Team behind her, and then at the grain station not far away. Since she would just be waiting anyway if she went back, she decided to go to the grain station ahead and take a look. She was really curious as to why the grain collection was so slow.
Upon closer inspection, Zhong Ying could see that the middle-aged man, who looked like an old farmer with a dark complexion, placed sacks full of grain on a large scale painted green, and then nervously watched the grain station's quality inspector along with the people around him.
Zhong Ying had received the original owner's memories, so she could understand the tension these people were feeling.
For the farmers who came to deliver grain, the grain station's quality inspectors, though not officials, held real power. They determined whether the grain had been dried to the required standard. If the grain failed the inspection, the farmers had to take it back to dry and sift it again before delivering it.
In such a sweltering summer, the need to rework and dry the grain, along with the back-and-forth effort, undoubtedly increases people's burden. People have to be more careful, and everyone wants to deliver the grain in one go.
As a checkpoint for delivering grain, getting through the inspection of the grain station inspectors was no less than passing through the gates of hell, hence the various nicknames given to it by the people.
The quality inspector first weighed the bag of grain, then inserted a hollow iron rod into the sack, creating a hole, and the grain immediately flowed out. This iron rod is called a "heart-piercing rod".
The overflowing grain was collected by the quality inspector into a small, fine-mesh aluminum sieve, where impurities had nowhere to hide and were all sifted out. People called this the "King of Hell's Sift."
Finally, the quality inspectors would grab a few grains of grain and stuff them into their mouths. They were used to this job and their mouths were so sharp that they could tell the moisture content just by chewing. If the grains were still a little damp, the villagers would take them back to dry in the sun. This was called "tiger teeth."
Only after passing all three tests can it be said that the grain meets the standards and can be stored.
Zhong Ying stood to the side, watching with great interest this thing that had long disappeared in modern times.
Li Changgui showed little interest and greeted Zhong Ying, "Fourth Sister-in-law, I'm going to find my parents."
Zhong Ying's mind was completely focused on the scene of harvesting grain, so she ignored Li Changgui's continued refrain from calling it "playing house" and simply waved to him.
When she turned to look at Li Lin again, she casually asked, "Are you going back too?"
Under her gaze, Li Linshi opened his mouth but didn't know how to answer for a moment.
Seeing that he wasn't leaving, Zhong Ying said, "That's perfect, I'll cool off for a while longer."
Who wouldn't take advantage of free "air conditioning," especially in these days without it?
After watching for a while, Zhong Ying finally understood why the grain harvesting was so slow.
While the large number of people is a factor, Panpokou and Zhoujiawowo, which are ahead of the queue, are both production brigades with large populations and were originally villages, Tonggan Village, due to its remote location and the devastation of a flash flood, currently has only fourteen households. Therefore, it was established as a production team, just like the similarly small Liwangou, Yuqianwa, and Shenjiagou.
In production brigades like Panpokou and Zhoujiawowo, there were further subdivisions into production teams. The entire village not only had a brigade leader, but also the leaders of each production team.
With more people having a voice, friction is inevitable.
Zhong Ying watched as the two production team leaders argued over substandard grain and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Where there are many people, there are bound to be conflicts. When she was working, her team leader often clashed with the team leader of the next team. Everyone wanted to step on others and get promoted to a higher position.
The quality inspector finally managed to separate the two men who were about to fight, and then told one of them to go and have the grain inspected by the quality inspector next to him.
"This bag of grain is no good, too many impurities, take it back and sift it again; that bag of grain over there is too wet, it needs to be dried twice more; this bag is fine, weighing forty-five jin, you can put it in the warehouse first, I'll give you a grain delivery receipt later, keep it safe, and make up for any missing grain another day; this bag too, it needs to be dried again..."
The people surrounding them were confused by the "bags" and looked at Zhang Jiutian, the captain of their second squad.
Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Jiutian had no choice but to step forward and negotiate with the young quality inspector, stopping him from continuing to inspect other sacks of grain. "Comrade, you said this sack of grain needs to be sifted for impurities again, and that sack of grain needs to be sifted again. We'll get mixed up later."
He secretly slipped a pack of cigarettes, which he had specially bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, into the quality inspector's hand, and said with a fawning smile, "How about you just leave us the grain that needs to be dried again, and put the rest into storage for us—"
The trick that usually worked failed this time. Dong Guang flicked his wrist, using the action of flipping through a notebook to avoid the pack of cigarettes. His expression was calm. "If you want it to be dried in the sun, I'll write the word 'dry' on the sack. If you want it to be sifted, I'll write the word 'sift' on it."
Zhang Jiutian was annoyed by the young quality inspector's ungratefulness. Believing himself to be older and more experienced, his confidence overcame any sense of superiority, and he deliberately made things difficult for the young man. "Oh dear, aren't you making things difficult for me? How many of us in the fields can read? Even if we keep it safe, we still won't be able to tell the difference!"
Dong Guang looked up and around, and saw the captain of the fifth team of Panpokou Brigade looking at the words on the voucher. He pointed over there and said, "When you get back, ask the captains of other production teams to take a look for you."
“No, I just had a falling out with Geng Chunmin and we almost came to blows. He definitely won’t help me sincerely.” Zhang Jiutian said this on purpose. He didn’t want to take so much substandard grain back and become a laughing stock for the other teams in Panpokou.
Dong Guang has only been working at the grain station for two years since graduation. Last year, he had a mentor and got through it without any problems. But this year, he encountered a seasoned veteran as soon as he started working independently as a quality inspector. Is it really true, as people say, that the young and inexperienced are easily bullied?
Nevertheless, Dong Guang had no intention of backing down. He had his own work principles; he would not deliberately make things difficult for others or withhold the grain they handed over, nor would he lower his standards on his own just because others made things difficult for him.
Dong Guang looked at Zhang Jiutian expressionlessly, "Then can I make a mark for you? I'll draw a circle for what needs to be dried in the sun, and a square for what needs to be sieved."
Zhang Jiutian remained as difficult as ever, saying, "I'm as stupid as a pig. Even if you draw it for me, I'll forget what the pattern means when I get back."
The line to deliver the grain was so long that Zhang Jiutian knew that the longer people waited, the more impatient they would become. He didn't believe that others wouldn't object to being stuck here. He figured that if the people were forced to accept his grain due to their anger, this hothead would have to grit his teeth and take it. It was just a little bran mixed in, and the sack would only weigh an extra pound or two. Was it really necessary to be so serious about it?
Just as he expected, the longer the line was stuck, the more commotion arose in the queue, and even the commune comrades who came to inspect the work noticed that something was wrong.
When Ding Bingrui, the deputy director of the commune, saw the young grain station quality inspector confronting a commune member in front of the stopped queue, he frowned and wanted to step forward to mediate the problem, but someone beat him to it.
“If you draw it more specifically, you’ll be able to understand it, right?” Zhong Ying said irritably as she walked over. She couldn’t stand it anymore. If everyone were like this person, with skin thicker than the sky and using ignorance as a license, the people in the Tonggan Production Team at the back of the line probably wouldn’t be able to hand over their grain until dark.
Upon hearing the sound, Dong Guang looked over and felt that the woman walking towards him seemed to be surrounded by a righteous light of speaking out for justice.
Zhang Jiutian turned to look at Zhong Ying and said rudely, "What business is it of yours, a mere girl?"
"What are you dawdling about here for, you grown man?" Zhong Ying didn't try to defend herself, but instead threw out another equally insulting question at the quality inspector, saying, "Give me the pen."
Just moments ago, Dong Guang had been cold and indifferent, but now he seemed a bit like a "naive young man," blankly handing her the pen in his hand.
Zhong Ying took the pen and checked again, "This bag is for drying, and that bag is for sifting again, right?"
Dong Guang responded, "Yes, that's right."
Zhong Ying squatted down and drew a vivid sun on the sack in a few strokes. On the other sack, she drew a simple version of a small round sieve, imitating the "King of Hell's sieve" in the quality inspector's hand.
After finishing the drawing, Zhong Ying stood up and looked at the troublemakers, asking with a half-smile, "Now you won't misunderstand or get confused, right?"
Zhang Jiutian was speechless. What else could he say? He couldn't possibly say that he didn't understand it. If he couldn't even understand such a vivid drawing, was he blind or brainless?
Zhong Ying turned around, gave a soft chuckle, and said to the quality inspector, "Continue inspecting the grain. I'll mark it for you from the side."
"Huh?" Dong Guang came to his senses, his movements slightly flustered. "Okay, okay."
Li Linshi then shifted his gaze from Zhong Ying to the quality inspector. He frowned, his eyes dark and cold, with a hint of disdain.
Ding Bingrui witnessed the whole process before he finally lifted his foot and walked over.
Upon seeing him, Dong Guang quickly introduced him to Zhong Ying, "This is Deputy Director Ding from the commune. He's here today to inspect the grain station's grain collection work."
After he finished speaking, he respectfully greeted Ding Bingrui, "Deputy Director Ding."
Zhong Ying also greeted the middle-aged man in his forties, who looked very gentle and respectable, as "Deputy Director Ding".
Ding Bingrui nodded kindly at the two young people in front of him, then his gaze lingered more on Zhong Ying. From her actions just now, he saw a kind of potential.
Not afraid of trouble, daring to stand out; when faced with questions from others, he asks them back; and then responds with effortless skill.
He did even better than he did when he was younger.
When he first started working, he encountered difficult people and sometimes got angry and frustrated. After suffering a few losses, he finally understood what it meant to "strike from a distance" and "overcome strength with softness" after being patiently taught by the deputy secretary who was mentoring him.
Ding Bingrui saw that Zhong Ying possessed even greater potential than himself. His gaze softened, and he asked her, "What's your name? Which production team are you from?"
Although Zhong Ying was somewhat puzzled, she simply took it as a way for the leader to be approachable and close to the masses. Unlike the excited look on the quality inspector's face, she answered calmly, "I am from the Tonggan production team."
"My name is Zhong Ying, Ying from Yingshan."
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Author's Note: The romance and career storylines are being gradually developed, so please take your time.
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