Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 832 831 The Harvest Begins

The seven necessities of life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.

Firewood is the most important thing.

Before the large-scale mining of coal, the demand for firewood was paramount for everyone, from high-ranking officials to ordinary people, especially in winter, when people needed it not only for boiling water and cooking but also for heating their kang (a traditional heated bed).

Although coal became available to ordinary people in Beijing after liberation, firewood remained scarce.

At that time, most people only used firewood to start fires and did not use it as their main fuel.

Even when it came to starting a fire, many courtyards would "borrow" fire from each other. One family would get up early to light their stove, and another family would take a piece of honeycomb briquette from it to start the fire. The next day, another family would get up early... and so on.

This move not only saved firewood but also matches, demonstrating a very clever and meticulous approach.

The city of Beijing supplied coal to rural areas, but unlike the city, the supply was not unlimited; there was a fixed quota from the beginning.

However, this has less of an impact on rural areas, because according to rural tradition, farmers mostly burn by-products from the fields as fuel, such as corn, sorghum, wheat stalks, sesame stalks, bean stalks, and bean stalks.

Since the commune was established, the members have been eating from the same pot. At first, everyone was busy making steel, and truckloads of firewood and coal were being stuffed into the small blast furnace.

Many commune members were thinking, if steelmaking is going this far, when winter comes, won't the commune distribute a cartload of coal to each person?

The good news was that coal was still being supplied to the commune; the bad news was that this coal still had to be bought with money, and in limited quantities.

As a result, the straw that hadn't been harvested in time became highly sought after, and this tradition has continued ever since.

Living in the countryside, Tang Zhitong asked Qu Yi about fuel before starting to build the stove. Only after learning that the municipal bureau would deliver firewood did he go to mix the mud.

As for where the municipal bureau gets its firewood, that's none of his concern.

There are specific rules for building a stove. You can use bricks or adobe bricks. People who are particular about this will wait for it to dry naturally before using it. But Tang Zhitong doesn't care about these things. He builds the stove and then lights a fire to bake and shape it.

So what if it cracks? As long as it doesn't cause smoke to escape and we can get the wheat harvest done in the next few days, we'll consider our task complete.

As the sun set, college and junior high school students gradually came to the threshing ground to eat and rest.

In these times of year, eating is always a pleasure, especially when it's unlimited.

Tang Zhitong's stove immediately proved its value, with three large pots lined up in a row, all filled with thick, sticky dumpling soup.

All the workers lined up in three columns to get their meals. Each person received a large spoonful of dumpling soup. Fang Yuan acted like a housekeeper, not only maintaining order but also occasionally saying, "Line up, line up. Everyone gets some. If you're still hungry, there will be more. Be mindful of your portion size and don't overeat."

Tang Zhitong distributed pickled vegetable strips to each person, two to three strips per person, depending on their length and thickness.

"Teacher Tang, it looked like you just now, but I didn't dare to recognize you in the dark." Tang Zhitong was just wondering if she had enough pickled vegetables when she heard Bi Bin's voice.

"Huh? Team leader? So you guys came here to work?" Tang Zhitong was slightly surprised when she heard Bi Bin's noise and looked up to see her classmates from the research class.

"The college arranged for us to work here. Two classes from our school came," Bi Bin said with a smile and a nod.

"Hehe, this place is nice, all you can eat. You guys eat first, we'll chat later." Three big pots were cooking dumpling soup, but only he was handing out pickled vegetables. While they were talking, some people were already waiting, so Tang Zhitong decided to get down to business first.

Leading cadres should be the first to endure hardship and the last to enjoy the benefits.

The city bureau leaders, including Fang Yuan, were among the last to get their meals.

Everyone brought their own lunchbox. When Tang Zhitong went to get his lunchbox from the floor, he was surprised to find that his floor mat was not only already laid out, but also much thicker than the ones next to it.

I only found out after asking my colleagues that Zhang Jinbo had done it.

Tang Zhitong wanted to thank Zhang Jinbo, but couldn't find him for a while, so she went to get her food first.

After getting their food, Tang Zhitong was pulled to squat down with Fang Yuan. Besides him, there was Su Qingxiang from the Municipal Bureau and several other people from the department.

The group chatted and ate while Tang Zhitong listened.

According to these leaders, the students who came were not only from the College of Posts and Telecommunications, but also from the College of Medicine and the College of Agriculture.

The Post and Telecommunications Institute is, after all, part of the post and telecommunications system. Since this is their own farm, they will definitely prioritize using it for their own students.

As for the medical school and the agricultural college, those were assigned by higher authorities, and they each had their own tasks and missions.

This afternoon, medical students set up a stall in the threshing ground to provide medical care to the villagers, while agricultural students went to the fields to collect specimens.

As for the junior high school students, although there were a few junior students from the postal and electronic departments, they were assigned there entirely according to the school's assignments, and neither the municipal bureau nor the ministry made any special requests.

However, they were supposed to arrive tomorrow, but they came today because the postal and electronic students inside got a ride from the municipal bureau for the students.

With a truck to ride in, who would want to walk dozens of miles?

Tang Zhitong squatted to the side, listening to their conversation, but wondered if there were any good classmates in her sister's class who could help them save some walking effort.

After the meal, as the colleagues from the escort department began to assemble, Tang Zhitong leaned over to Su Qingxiang and asked, "Director Su, how's the food supply here? I see there's only flour in the warehouse."

Since it concerned his "part-time job," Tang Zhitong had no choice but to ask.

"Someone will deliver it tomorrow, once a day, don't worry. Old Fang praised your cooking skills, I'm looking forward to trying yours," Su Qingxiang replied cheerfully.

"Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go see how the escort department assigns shifts." Tang Zhitong felt relieved after hearing Su Qingxiang's words.

The guards gathered here, and because everyone was carrying a gun, many junior high school students and college students were envious and gathered around to watch the spectacle.

After Zhang Jinbo called out the names of everyone, he assigned tasks. Of course, he couldn't say that he was preventing anyone from stealing grain; he only said that it was to maintain food security.

That's a perfectly respectable reason.

All the guards were divided into two groups: one group patrolled the wheat field, and the other group guarded the wheat field at fixed points.

Zhang Jinbo assigned Tang Zhitong to the group working in the wheat field. The number of people wasn't fixed. According to Zhang Jinbo, starting tomorrow, there would be more guards patrolling the wheat fields, but as the wheat in the threshing ground increased, the focus would gradually shift to the threshing ground.

Since the wheat hasn't been harvested yet, there's no wheat on the threshing floor, so the team guarding the threshing floor has a night off and can rest.

"Brother Zhang really cares about me, thanks." The firearms were not kept in individual hands. Those who were off duty tonight needed to separate their guns and ammunition and put them into a temporary warehouse for safekeeping. Tang Zhitong put down his gun and came out to offer Zhang Jinbo a cigarette.

In Tang Zhitong's view, guarding the wheat field was obviously easier than patrolling.

"I'm not giving you any special treatment, but you'll be responsible for cooking for everyone during the day. You can work fewer shifts at night, just three or four hours every other day." Zhang Jinbo took the cigarette and spoke seriously, showing his concern.

"Hey, I was talking about the sleeping area on the floor. As for the shifts, let's try it out first. I'll talk to Brother Zhang when I can't take it anymore." Tang Zhitong didn't give up on Zhang Jinbo's offer. He was here to build a good image in the postal system. If he didn't suffer a bit, wouldn't he have come for nothing?
“Oh, a makeshift bed on the floor. I noticed you didn’t prepare any bedding, so I added two extra layers. If it gets cold at night, you can pull some out to cover yourself.” Zhang Jinbo paused for a moment after saying that, then added, “How about we squeeze in together tonight? It’s warmer to squeeze in than to freeze.”

"No need. When you're young, sleeping on a cold kang (heated brick bed) is all about having a strong body. With my build, I wouldn't feel cold sleeping outside in the dead of winter." Tang Zhitong declined Zhang Jinbo's offer. He couldn't get over the psychological hurdle of being best friends with a grown man for a "bed".

"Say something if you get cold." Zhang Jinbo didn't insist when he saw that Tang Zhitong disagreed.

"Okay, thanks, Brother Zhang." Tang Zhitong agreed verbally, but didn't really intend to go find him. If he really couldn't stand the cold, he still had rabbit skins in his space. He could just put them under the straw and no one would be able to see them.
As the two were talking, the light bulb that was propped up outside went out.

The electricity supply for residents in Beijing is unstable, and the situation is even worse in rural areas.

Today is the waning crescent moon. The moon will rise into the sky in the middle of the night. Once the light bulb is turned off, only the starlight will remain outside.

Qu Yi took a torch from the kitchen, lit it in the stove, and stuck it into a pre-prepared slot in the adobe house. He then loudly announced, "Power outage! Those who need to use the toilet, hurry up! We have to get up early for the wheat harvest tomorrow!"

As soon as Qu Yi finished speaking, there was a rustling sound outside. Many people stood up from their makeshift beds, preparing to relieve themselves before going to sleep.

It was fortunate that Fang Yuan had led people to expand the toilet in the afternoon; otherwise, someone would probably have found a corner to relieve themselves right now.

A group of junior high school students, I don't know who started it, started playing hide-and-seek after the lights went out.

This game is really fun without lights. It's normal not to find anything; the fun is in the surprise when something jumps out and scares you.

"You little brats, stop yelling and go to sleep! We have to get up early tomorrow!" Someone got annoyed by the occasional noise and shouted at the group of energetic junior high school students.

Students, especially those from all-boys schools, always have a few who are unruly and disobedient. Feeling their enjoyment was interrupted, they retorted with a few words of dissatisfaction.

"Disorganized and undisciplined! What? Do you want to be sent back to school? Where is your teacher?!" Zhang Jinbo silenced the group of junior high school students with just one sentence.

Tang Zhitong watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh. These kids were so inexperienced and hadn't been through the harsh realities of life. He hoped they would be as energetic as they were tonight after their work tomorrow.

Zhang Jinbo was just trying to scare them; in the end, he didn't really do anything to the kids.

The nights on the farm were a bit chilly. Tang Zhitong lay on a straw mat, covered with straw that Zhang Jinbo had prepared for him. Although every movement made a rustling sound, it was warm enough to keep him sleeping comfortably.

The farm was a bit noisy at night. Some kind of small insects were courting all around, their sounds rising and falling, not loud, but disturbing my peaceful sleep.

Before going to sleep, Tang Zhitong used a cheat program to wipe out all the insects. Keeping things quiet was secondary; the main thing was that he didn't want to be bitten while he was sleeping, especially centipedes, whose bites were much more severe than mosquito bites.

As for mosquitoes, the night was cool and still, so they were powerless to do anything about it.

After a good night's sleep, it was May 23rd.

Before dawn, the farm's bell rang, urging everyone to get to work.

Tang Zhitong emerged from the straw, stretched, and brushed off the bits of straw clinging to her body; she was counting on them to keep warm tonight.

"Get up and get to work. Today, we'll each be assigned a plot of land and see who can work the fastest. Comrades, we can't fall behind!" Su Qingxiang, Fang Yuan, and others carried bundles of sickles out of the temporary warehouse, intending to distribute them to everyone.

"Okay!" the rough-looking men responded in twos and threes.

Many people are not used to getting up so early. Some are rubbing their eyes and yawning, some are taking advantage of the moonlight to go to the toilet, some are joking with the person next to them about snoring, farting and grinding their teeth last night, and some women are taking out basins to fill with water to wash their faces. Some people even asked if they should eat breakfast before going over.

There's no way we'll eat breakfast; there's not even a spark in the stove, and we can't even get a sip of hot water.

If he wanted to drink water, he could only draw water from the well next to the temporary dormitory. The water was so cold that Qian Qianyi stopped in his tracks, deciding it was better to wait until he finished his work before drinking it.

For a moment, the scene became somewhat chaotic.

Judging from the current situation, Tang Zhitong felt that his colleagues' wheat harvesting speed would be difficult to match that of the commune members.

Among the workers and college students who came to participate in the labor were some from farming backgrounds, so they were no strangers to the wheat harvest. With their help, the situation was kept under control.

Before the postal workers could finish their work, dawn broke in the east. By the time they lined up to go to the wheat field, the farm members were already harvesting wheat in an orderly fashion, and some were already pushing carts to transport the bundles of wheat to the threshing ground.

"Let's start harvesting!" With Fang Yuan's command, the workers carrying sickles began to enter the field.

Those workers and college students from farming backgrounds, each with a sickle in hand, cut wheat from one end of the field to the other, quickly putting them ahead of those unfamiliar with sickles.

Those who were somewhat thin were responsible for bundling and transporting the wheat.

There is one exception: Yu Ying.

Despite looking somewhat frail, he was already wielding a sickle and walking at the very front of the group.

Tang Zhitong's wheat harvesting speed wasn't outstanding, but it wasn't the slowest either. He would stand up and rub his back after harvesting for about ten minutes. He and his classmate Xiao Wang had put in a lot of effort these past few days to complete the task, and his old back was starting to give out.

There are quite a few people like Tang Zhitong, but they may not necessarily have a very active nightlife; they may also lack exercise.

The break-in process is always bound to have some bumps and bruises. Due to their unfamiliarity with the sickle, some employees even cut their hands or legs. Whenever this happened, medical students would come forward to help bandage them.

"Minor injuries do not keep us off the front lines, serious injuries do not require hospitalization"—this is a current slogan that embodies hard work and perseverance.

Even if they were injured, no one told them to go back to rest. After being bandaged, they had to continue working, but instead of harvesting wheat, they carried baskets and picked up fallen wheat ears with the women.

As for those junior high school students, they always have the fearlessness of newborn calves. At this moment, they are busy moving bundles of wheat, and not only that, they keep complaining that the wheat harvesting speed is too slow.

(End of this chapter)