60s: I have a store

Chapter 560 Proposal
But the joy of the harvest did not last long, as the heavy task of drying the grains lay ahead.

The old branch secretary knew very well that the moisture content of the newly harvested wheat was too high and it had to be dried as soon as possible, otherwise all efforts would be in vain if it became moldy.

He immediately called a meeting of villagers to arrange for the drying of the grain.

The threshing floor was cleaned and bundles of wheat were spread out to dry.

In order to prevent sudden rain, the old branch secretary arranged for someone to stay in the threshing ground and closely monitor weather changes.

"Everyone, cheer up. If you find that the weather is not right, harvest the wheat immediately! We must not let the wheat get wet by rain!" said the old branch secretary seriously.

During the day, the sun scorches the threshing floor, and the wheat emits bursts of fragrance in the sun.

The villagers in charge of guarding the threshing ground sat under the shade of the trees, but they dared not take their eyes off the threshing ground for a moment.

At night, they lit the oil lamps and continued to stick to their posts.

One afternoon, the sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds and strong winds blew.

Seeing this, the villagers who were working near the threshing ground shouted loudly: "It's going to rain, hurry up and harvest!" Suddenly, the whole village was in an uproar.

The men picked up wooden rakes and quickly gathered the wheat; the women took sacks and quickly filled them, and the children also helped pass the tools.

We worked together to race against time.

Raindrops as big as beans fell, but the villagers had no time to avoid them and continued to work hard to harvest in the rain.

Rain and sweat mixed together and soaked their clothes, but no one stopped what they were doing.

Finally, all the wheat was harvested before the heavy rain came.

Looking at the wheat piled in the warehouse, the villagers breathed a sigh of relief and smiles of surviving a disaster appeared on their faces.

The old Party Secretary stepped forward and said, "You are all great, otherwise I don't know how much wheat would be damaged!"

Everyone was very happy to hear the old branch secretary's praise. You know, the old branch secretary is usually very serious in the village, and it is very difficult to hear praise from him. It is a rare opportunity to hear it now, so of course they are happy.

The old Party Secretary looked at the sky and found that it was covered with dark clouds. It seemed that the rain would not stop for a while. "Everyone has worked hard today, so go back and rest first! We will continue to dry the grain tomorrow!"

When the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang heard this, they were very happy. Not having to stay in the threshing ground meant they could have a rest. Everyone had been busy for so many days, and being able to finish work half a day earlier was a good thing!
Everyone greeted the old branch secretary and went back in the rain.

People nowadays can be said to be strong and healthy. Not to mention getting caught in the rain, even getting caught in the snow is no problem.

Unlike people in later generations, everyone has weak physical fitness. If they are not careful after being caught in the rain, they can easily catch a cold.

Zhou Yimin saw that the villagers had been busy for so long, basically from morning to night every day, with almost no rest.

I was thinking about whether I should hold some activities to give everyone a break, and suddenly it occurred to me that fishing competitions in the future seemed to be quite good.

I can offer some rewards to motivate the villagers, and then they can relax for a day. But what kind of rewards should I give, or should I just give them money like in later generations?

Forget it. It’s useless to think so much if the old branch secretary doesn’t agree. I have to take action and prepare to find the old branch secretary.

Zhou Yimin didn't even need to guess, the old branch secretary must be in the threshing ground. After all, the most important thing for the whole village now is to dry the grain. In addition, the weather is unstable now, and he would feel a little worried if he was not there to watch it personally.

Soon Zhou Yimin arrived at the threshing ground. As expected, he saw from a distance that the old branch secretary was sitting in a shady place, looking up at the sky, afraid of missing any changes in the weather. He was so focused that he didn't even notice Zhou Yimin approaching.

Seeing the old secretary so focused, Zhou Yimin suddenly had a bad idea, and then quietly walked to the side of the old secretary. Unexpectedly, the old secretary didn't respond yet, so he suddenly shouted: "Old secretary!"

The old branch secretary was frightened and was about to scold him, wanting to see which bastard was so bold as to dare to scare him. He was really going to get into trouble if he didn't get punished.

Suddenly seeing that it was Zhou Yimin, he immediately took back all the words that were about to come out of his mouth, and then changed his expression: "Yimin, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Zhou Yimin did not notice the old secretary's changing face, and then said: "Old secretary, I have something to discuss with you!"

The old secretary smiled and said, "What's the matter?"

He also knew that there must be something important that caused Zhou Yimin to come to him. Otherwise, given Zhou Yimin's personality, he would definitely not come to him.

Zhou Yimin said directly: "Old Party Secretary, I see that the villagers have been working hard recently, so I thought of holding a fishing competition so that the villagers can have a good rest. I wonder if it is feasible?"

The old Party Secretary looked at Zhou Yimin strangely: "Are you sure you want the villagers to have a rest?"

As far as he knew, Zhou Yimin had become obsessed with fishing recently. Wasn't he thinking of holding a fishing competition as an excuse to get all the villagers to go fishing with Zhou Yimin?

Zhou Yimin knew that the old branch secretary would misunderstand, so he quickly explained, and then said seriously: "Of course I want to let the villagers have a rest!"

Seeing this, the old branch secretary didn't say much. He thought about it and decided that this was indeed a good idea. Holding a fishing competition would not only provide entertainment, but it might also add a dish. "It's really a good idea? Then I'll notify everyone tonight and count how many people will participate!"

Seeing that the old branch secretary agreed, Zhou Yimin continued, "We can also give some rewards at that time to make everyone in the village happy!"

The old branch secretary looked embarrassed. You know, the village had used up all of its "stock" during this period of time in order to harvest wheat, and now there was no meat left in the village.

If there is no meat as a reward, it is better not to have any reward. If it is just food, it will not be very tempting.

After all, now we can eat in the big dining hall in the village and basically get enough to eat, so food alone doesn’t have much appeal.

Seeing the old branch secretary's embarrassment, Zhou Yimin asked directly: "Old branch secretary, what do you think the reward should be?"

The old Party Secretary didn't even think twice: "It must be meat!"

After saying this, he felt a little regretful. Of course he knew that this little bit of meat was nothing to Zhou Yimin, but this competition was also held in the village.

Moreover, Zhou Yimin has helped the villagers a lot, so they can't always trouble Zhou Yimin. He thinks that if the village can solve the problem, there is no need to trouble Zhou Yimin. If they get used to it, and Zhou Yimin suddenly changes his mind later, the village will be in trouble.

After Zhou Yimin heard this, if it was meat, then it would be easy: "Old branch secretary, what do you think of the reward?" "The first place will get ten kilograms of meat, the second place will get nine kilograms, and so on?" The old branch secretary's eyes widened when he heard such a generous reward.

After Zhou Yimin saw the old branch secretary's expression, he waved his hand in front of the old branch secretary, and the old branch secretary came back to his senses: "Yimin, isn't your reward a bit generous?"

Then he calculated it. It didn’t matter if he didn’t calculate it, but when he did, he was shocked: “Yimin, this won’t work. The reward is too generous!”

After saying that, he was thinking, and suddenly it occurred to him that he didn't have to reward all of them with meat, but could reward them with money, so he immediately said, "How about this, reward meat for odd numbers, and money for even numbers?"

"The first prize is five kilograms of meat, the second prize is five dollars, and so on. This way, we don't have to give out so much meat!"

Zhou Yimin also thought that the old branch secretary's suggestion was good: "Old branch secretary, you are really amazing. You came up with such a good idea in one go!"

The old Party Secretary was so praised by Zhou Yimin that he didn't know what to say. He could only change the subject: "In this case, the money will be paid by the village. As for the meat, I'll have to trouble you, Yimin."

As for the village, there is really nothing we can do about meat, but as for money, we can still get some. After all, the village now has a stable income. Whether it is vegetables, chicken farms, or feed processing plants, these three can bring considerable income to the village.

Zhou Yimin did not insist and agreed immediately!

The two chatted for a while, and Zhou Yimin was about to leave. The old branch secretary called Zhou Zhiming over and told him everything he had just talked about with Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Zhiming was shocked at first, and then he was ecstatic. You know, his fishing skills are not bad, and it shouldn't be difficult to gain fame.

If he didn't have to inform other people in the village, he would have thought of going to the river to practice right now.

There is no need to hold another village meeting over such a trivial matter.

Zhou Zhiming could only notify each household one by one. When the villagers heard the news, they were very happy, not just because they could have a day off.

After all, after working intensively for so many days, I am very tired both physically and mentally, and I also get a ranking and a reward.

Many of them were very confident in their fishing skills, and they all thought that the first place reward was a sure win.

There are also quite a few people who don't have much confidence, and some have never fished before. It can be said that they know nothing about fishing.

Thinking about the generous rewards, they thought that they could practice while they could still do it. Those who had fishing rods took them and went to the river to fish, and those who didn't have fishing rods immediately made one.

For people today, making a fishing rod by yourself is an easy task. After completing it, you can go to the river.

After Zhou Dazhui made his own fishing rod, he went to the river. He didn't expect that there were quite a few people at the riverside which was usually deserted. If he hadn't come early, there wouldn't be any seats available. He didn't even have time to choose a seat, so he quickly found an empty seat and went over.

He was still very grateful. If he hadn't come earlier, he probably wouldn't even have a seat.

You know, Zhou Dazhu's fishing skills are not very good. If he doesn't practice hard, it would be a pipe dream for him to become famous.
Later, more and more people came to the river to fish, and many of them were dumbfounded after arriving.

I had never felt that there were so many people in the village before. Many people left disappointed when they saw that there were no seats available. They couldn’t just push others away and sit down to fish by themselves!

If you dare to do this, everyone in the village will know about it by tomorrow, and you will have to endure the rumors in the village.

After seeing this, many people thought that they must come early tomorrow, otherwise there would be no hope of practicing.

From now until the end of the fishing competition, there will probably be so many people. If you want to get a seat, you have to come early, otherwise you won’t have a chance to cram at the last minute.

How to fish when there is not even any space?

When Zhou Yimin arrived at the river, he was stunned.

He finally understood what it felt like to shoot himself in the foot.

I could only shake my head and leave disappointed. It seems that if I want to go fishing, I have to come earlier tomorrow.

Zhou Yimin was not worried. The villagers in Zhoujiazhuang were busy and could only come to fish during their rest time. As for him, he was free the whole day, so he was not worried about having no place to fish.

When Zhou Zhiming went to notify them, it was already dusk. Not long after, it was completely dark. Many people left without catching a single fish.

We have to get up early tomorrow morning and be busy. If we don’t get enough rest, tomorrow will be very hard. Many people persisted until around eight o’clock, but they couldn’t hold on any longer and had to give up, pack up their things, and go home.

However, there are still one or two stubborn ones who just don't believe in evil and refuse to go back to rest if they can't catch any fish.

Zhou Dazhui is one of them. In his mind, he is not good at fishing. If he doesn’t work harder, it will be too difficult to get a ranking.

The next day arrived as scheduled, and many people in Zhoujiazhuang got up much earlier than usual, all wondering if they could go fishing by the river before going to work.

It was so early that breakfast in the canteen was not ready yet, so everyone had to go fishing on an empty stomach. However, if they could get a place in the fishing competition, all the efforts would be worth it.

When many people arrived, they were shocked by the scene before them. They didn't expect that someone had arrived earlier than them.

Zhou Zhiming was one of them. Seeing Zhou Dazhu already fishing, he quickly came over and asked, "Dazhu, how long have you been here?"

He looked at Zhou Dazhui's body, which still contained some dewdrops. He knew at a glance that he had been here for quite some time.

Zhou Dazhu woke up when he heard someone calling him: "Uncle Zhiming, when will you come?"

How come he didn't notice someone coming? Wasn't he fishing?
Zhou Zhiming was stunned at first, and then he asked quickly: "Dazhu, when will you come over?"

Zhou Dazhu didn't dare to say anything. He didn't go back all night, but stayed here fishing. Then he began to explain in a squeaking manner.

When Zhou Zhiming saw this scene, he immediately had an answer in his mind: "Dazhu, you didn't stay home all night?"

Seeing that Zhou Zhiming had already guessed it, Zhou Dazhu could only nod!

(End of this chapter)