Having lived in the city for so many years, He Chunsheng had no shortage of connections. After asking around, he found a family that kept a dog within a few days.
Coincidentally, that family lived on the farm where Sun Laiyi was exiled. They were considered farm workers, responsible for guarding the farm tools and food.
The farm is not big, with only a few hundred acres of land. The people there work together collectively, and food is also distributed collectively.
The composition of the members is complex. Some are workers who were laid off during the famine in the city, some are farmers from surrounding towns and villages, and some are people undergoing reform who have bad backgrounds or have made mistakes.
As indigenous people, the first two usually build their own farmhouses by the stream behind the farm, and open up vegetable fields and livestock sheds in front of and behind the houses, raising chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep.
The farm is located in a remote area, far from the supply and marketing cooperative, so many things have to be self-sufficient. However, the annual grain distribution is more than that of the villages outside, and most people are quite satisfied with the current situation.
At the door, there was a middle-aged man wearing patched clothes, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan, and seemed to be waiting for them.
Seeing the two people coming, he walked forward and greeted them warmly, "Chunsheng, you're here. It's been several years since we last met, right? This is your sister. She's really as famous as her reputation says. She's much prettier than the flower on our farm."
"You, a fool, now know how to praise people. Dongbao, just call him Uncle Liu. In the early days, this farm didn't even have a light bulb. I was the one who pulled all the wiring. He owes me a favor."
Liu Laoshuan looked at him unhappily, "It's just such a small thing, but you still remember it until now. Don't worry, you won't forget it! Our puppies are just one month old, so just take any one you like home.
By the way, the light bulb in my room is always flickering. If you help me check it, I'll give you an extra one."
"Okay, now that you've asked, how can I not help? How many puppies has your dog given birth to?"
"Six of them, all survived, looking sleek and smooth..."
After passing through a camphor tree forest, they saw a row of houses made of yellow mud and straw. After being introduced, they understood where the people who were sent down lived.
A few children in open-crotch pants were squatting at the door, poking clods of earth with branches.
"Such a young child was also sent down?"
"No, those are our children. Among the last batch of people sent down there was a man who could sing opera and tell stories. It was better than what we heard on the radio. Everyone was happy to come to him to listen to the opera. These kids are here to take up seats."
"Taking a seat?"
"Yes, he has a lot of work to do every day, so he doesn't have time to tell stories. He only has one show every Wednesday night. There's a theater right in front of his house, so whoever gets there first can hear it more clearly."
"He just sang it for you guys for no reason?"
"Of course not. If we go to the opera, we should at least show some appreciation by giving him some vegetables and a few cucumbers. The generous ones might even give him an egg. His wife is in poor health, and she relies on these to nourish herself. It's actually a disease of affluence."
I heard that he wasn't a famous actor, but he used to earn dozens of dollars for a single performance. What kind of life did he lead? He couldn't have eaten meat every meal.
As a genuine farmer, such wealth is the limit of his imagination.
He Chunsheng curled his lips, "Not only that, I heard they get tired of meat and only pick up delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and even hire a chef, and they can't stand it if the food isn't delicious."
"Tsk tsk, there's really no comparison, but he hasn't done anything harmful, who wouldn't enjoy making money?
I think we should just give some of his property to poor people like us. There's no need to actually arrest him and reform him. When he first came here, his legs were broken, and it took a lot of effort to repair them. It's really pitiful."
Liu Laoshuan patted his palm-leaf fan, as if realizing that there were some things he shouldn't say, and quickly made up for it.
"But they've at least enjoyed wealth for half their lives. Unlike me, who grew up in poverty for three generations and has lived in misery all my life, I haven't had a single day of good life. How can I have the time to sympathize with others?"
He Chunsheng patted him on the shoulder to show his understanding, then asked, "You guys can still perform opera here? Isn't there anyone supervising?"
"He hummed a few lines at home, and we listened outside. The vegetables and eggs he brought were just gifts for visiting. What's wrong with that?"
Liu Laoshuan's tan skin was covered in wrinkles. "There are policies from above, and countermeasures from below. How can we really be like other places, where they keep watching what they say and do all day, picking on every word and finding fault? If we have struggle sessions every day, how can we still do our farm work?"
At this point, he sighed. Life on the farm was boring. Even the projectionist was reluctant to come here.
If they can’t watch movies, can’t they listen to a couple of plays and have some fun?
Of course, people who have committed crimes are treated differently. They are all under unified supervision, sent out to work at designated times, and then sent back to sleep at night.
These troublemakers are always fighting and stealing, so they need to keep a close eye on them.
Last time, the guard accidentally let a girl escape because he went to pee. I heard that she jumped into the river and died outside.
Liu Laoshuan really couldn't understand why she had endured the difficult life on the farm, but after finally escaping outside, she was determined to die.
Come to think of it, I have to thank her for not causing any trouble to the farm.
Otherwise, if the person sent here attempts suicide for no reason, the higher-ups will definitely come to investigate, and a lot of trouble will have to be mobilized again.
As they were talking, several people arrived at Liu's house. The big dog was born in the woodshed. A straw nest was piled under the dilapidated furniture.
A big black dog was lying inside with a big bone next to it.
This dog was quite large, a bit larger than the later Husky, with sharp teeth, erect ears and shiny fur on its back.
There is a groove from the skull to the eyes, and the limbs and torso are stronger than those of ordinary domestic dogs.
Its jaw is well developed and its eyes have the oppressive feeling of a predator, but when it faces Liu Laoshuan, it flashes with unique spirituality.
Obviously, this is a wolfdog, its whole body is black, and it must have the blood of a black wolf.
Under its belly, there were several puppies of different colors and sizes vying for milk.
The one-month-old puppy has opened its eyes, but the surface of its pupils is covered with a layer of blue film, making it difficult to see clearly.
Some were pushed to the other side. They just raised their heads and sniffed hard with their noses. It took them a long time to find the right direction. They hummed twice and crawled back stumblingly.
Liu Laoshuan stroked the dog as if it were an old friend, and proudly introduced it, "This is a mountain tiger. It's very fierce and very skilled at catching rabbits and pheasants in the mountains. Last year, a wild boar came down the mountain, and thanks to its alertness, it woke us up. Otherwise, it would have even knocked down my courtyard wall."
When He Ruixue entered the room just now, she noticed an old hunting rifle hanging on the wall of the living room, and she did not doubt whether they could deal with the wild boar.
The war had just ended and the country's control over guns was not very strict. Many seemingly ordinary farmers had real kung fu skills and might have even fought one or two Japanese devils.
Some villages even form their own militia, organizing them to go hunting in the mountains in winter and store meat for the entire winter.
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