Era: I was a farmer at the foot of Yaoling Mountain

Chapter 129 Labor Competition, Swinging a Hammer
"Third brother, I'll have them trade you for flue-cured tobacco seeds later. How do we do that?"

Grandpa changed the subject in time. If Fang Wei wanted to live in the village, he would have come here a long time ago. Why would he wait until today?
"I don't specialize in growing flue-cured tobacco seeds because selling them is too much of a hassle and I'm too lazy to worry about it. So, I can give you the seeds you need for 100 mu of land. Just consider it as a token of your appreciation."

Fang Wei did not do his job properly this time. He basically just delivered tobacco seeds to the Yao village.

Flue-cured tobacco is very special among cash crops, so he has no intention of making money from it.

"Thank you, Third Brother. Thank you, Third Brother."

Grandpa gave a wink, and the others expressed their gratitude to Fang Wei.

In fact, all of them were older than Fang Wei, and they all called him "Third Brother", which made him feel a little uncomfortable.

He and Pan Lianhua stayed in the village for three days. When they returned, the village sent someone with some bacon, dried bamboo shoots and other supplies to the second team.

Then they returned to the Yao village carrying tobacco seeds, ready to plant them in the spring.

"Third brother, don't you feel at a disadvantage?"

"What's the harm? These dry goods and mountain products are rarely seen. I'll make a big pot of rice for everyone to taste. I guarantee everyone will say they're delicious after eating them."

"Third brother, thank you."

"The family said thank you, hurry up, blow out the lights and go to bed."

Years ago.

Zheng Hu and others returned to the village, and the construction of Yaojialing Reservoir was temporarily stopped.

The team prepared to slaughter the Lunar New Year pigs. As usual, six pigs were slaughtered at once, leaving 6 pigs at the [pig farm]. Each household also received at least one mallard duck, leaving only a few laying hens in the poultry house.

[Produces piglets, points +1572]

[Produces Mallard, points +600]

Total points: 197892 points.

Each member gets an average of 8 kilograms of pork, which is definitely enough to eat during the Chinese New Year.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua together received 20 kilograms of pork, while Fang Ping's family received 26 kilograms. The pork was distributed, just like the food rations, per person. Children and those receiving the "Five Guarantees" received half the average amount.

It’s much better now than before. I used to eat meat less than twice a year, but now I can eat it once every two months on average.

Fang Wei plans to ensure that everyone can eat meat once a month on average starting this year.

"Third brother, how are you going to spend New Year's Eve? Are you going to spend it indoors or in the mountains?"

After Fang Wei got married, it was like setting up a new household, so logically he should stay at home during the New Year.

However, he and Pan Lianhua could also go to the village to spend the New Year with Grandpa.

"It's better to celebrate the New Year indoors during the first year. A home needs people, and I do care about that."

Fang Wei planned to celebrate the New Year in the house and then go to the Yao village with Pan Lianhua on the second day of the New Year.

On New Year's Eve, Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua worked together to prepare a table of dishes. Each dish was not large in portion, after all, there were only two of them, and it would be easy to waste if they couldn't finish it.

The couple drank some sweet potato wine, and the dim kerosene lamp shone on their faces, revealing an expression of happiness and satisfaction.

"Sister, I'm going to bring some food to Mr. Guan. I was so busy just now that I forgot about it. I shouldn't have done that."

Fang Wei and Fang Ping had invited the old man to their home to celebrate the New Year in advance, but he refused to go.

After drinking two bowls of wine, he remembered this matter. He hurried to the kitchen to get some food and came to Guan Chongyang's house.

At this time, the old man was drinking alone, and there were only two simple dishes on the table.

"Happy New Year, old man! Look what I brought you, your favorite pork elbow."

Fang Wei brought a few dishes, took them out of the basket and placed them on the table.

Guan Chongyang laughed, took a bite of the [Braised Pork Elbow with Dried Bamboo Shoots], and couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Lotus is a good girl, and her cooking skills are getting better and better. Third brother, it's not that I'm being pretentious and not wanting to spend the New Year with you, it's just that this year is not the right time."

Guan Chongyang has his own rules. You can say he is feudal and superstitious, but it is always for Fang Wei's sake.

"If you don't want to go, then don't go. It's no big deal. Come on, have some more food. It's still hot."

Fang Wei sat here for about ten minutes, drank a bowl of wine with the old man, and then hurried back home.

the next day.

In the morning, many people, young and old, came to the house to pay New Year's greetings. Pan Lianhua was busy serving tea and water, and also brought out fried peanuts and dried loquats to treat everyone.

Fang Wei took the team cadres to visit the five-guarantee households in the village, and also wished Zheng Xianfa and Grandpa Guan a happy new year.

After a busy day, he had a drink with Zheng Hu, Deng Yuanen and others in the evening, and the house finally became quiet.

The second day of the new year.

Fang Ping and Tian Guihua took their two children back to their parents' home, while Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua packed up and went to the Yao village.

The Chinese New Year is a rare time for everyone to relax and rest. All kinds of food that are rarely seen in other days are placed on the table. It seems that all the hardships suffered in the past year have gone with the wind at this time.

Everyone has his or her own aspirations, and everyone has his or her own responsibilities.

Fang Wei and Pan Lianhua stayed in the village for three days. After returning, they began to prepare. Fang Wei was going to lead a team to repair the reservoir.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Yaojialing Reservoir construction site once again welcomed a construction workforce of over ten thousand people and resumed work.

The second team replaced a group of laborers, and Fang Wei personally led the team to report for duty.

Building a reservoir is a tough job these days. Due to the lack of large-scale machinery and equipment, the entire project basically relies on manpower.

Everyone fully demonstrated the spirit of "Yugong moving mountains", using flatbed trucks, wheelbarrows, and shoulder poles to dig out massive amounts of earth and rocks and transport them away from the construction site.

The second team specially dispatched a hand tractor to improve production efficiency and complete the construction task ahead of schedule.

The construction command divided the entire project into several parts and then assigned the tasks.

The commune received the task and divided it among the brigades, which in turn divided it among the production teams. It can be said that the tasks were broken down layer by layer, with increasingly detailed requirements, eliminating the possibility of slacking off.

The entire project is progressing in an orderly manner and no major accidents have occurred so far.

"Fang Wei, do you see that little hill over there? After we blast the rocks, your second team will be responsible for clearing the southwest section of that area. All the rubble must be cleared away. Do you understand?"

The coordinator of the engineering command issued task instructions to the second team.

"understand!"

Fang Wei didn't say anything more. After receiving the task, he took the 20 team members to the designated location.

Originally there were supposed to be 20 people in total, but he transferred Deng Yuanen and his car over, so there was one more person.

The engineering command center only provided flatbed trucks and wheelbarrows, but no tractors, so most construction workers had to rely on pulling and carrying on their shoulders. Only a few units or wealthy production teams had tractors.

Tractors can improve transportation efficiency and reduce labor intensity, playing a significant role. However, upon arriving at the designated location, Fang Wei discovered that things were not that simple.

For example, gravel is produced by blasting, and the stones are of different sizes. The small ones can be directly loaded onto trucks and transported away, while the large ones are too heavy for several people to lift, so they need to be crushed again.

At the construction site, the only way to break it is with steel chisels and sledgehammers, which is very physically demanding.

"Deng Yuanen, take them and load the truck first. Don't worry about the big rocks. We'll break them down here."

Fang Wei immediately divided the staff into two groups: one group would clear away the small rocks first, while the other would be responsible for breaking the large rocks.

Everyone followed Fang Wei's orders and took action.

As the team leader, Fang Wei naturally stayed in the area where the task was most difficult. He picked up a sledgehammer to test the feel of it.

"Are you from Xiatang Team 2? Where's Hu Zi? Why isn't he here?"

At this time, a girl came over and shouted to everyone.

Although she didn't know the newcomers, a flag was fluttering in the wind not far away, with the words "Youth Commando of Xiatang Team 2 of Yaoling Commune" written on it.

Fang Wei turned his head and glanced at the person who came. The girl looked pretty good, but she was too dark. The most noticeable thing about her mouth was her big white teeth.

To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such a dark-skinned girl.

"The team is changing shifts. Hu Zi won't be coming this time. He'll come back when it's his turn."

Fang Wei smiled and responded.

The girl said no more and turned back to her team.

"Third brother, what's going on? Could it be that this girl is interested in Brother Huzi?"

The tractor was loading the truck, and Deng Yuanen ran over with a smile to watch the fun.

This kid's gossip fire is burning fiercely, and I don't know how many scenes he has imagined in his mind.

"Go, go, do your work."

Fang Wei smiled and kicked the other person, but he was actually thinking about the same question in his mind.

But soon, he no longer had any thoughts about anything else.

Swinging a sledgehammer is quite physically demanding and requires some skill; it can't be done with brute force alone.

Fortunately, his physical fitness is quite good. Not only is he strong, but he is also quick-witted and has good hand-eye coordination.

The "ding ding bang bang" sound had a unique rhythm. Fang Wei quickly found the trick, and huge rocks were shattered into pieces under his hammer.

The team member holding the steel drill was full of admiration. He was very worried at first, afraid that the other party would accidentally hit his hand.

But not long after, he completely relaxed and gave Fang Wei absolute trust.

The big hammer seemed to be nothing in Fang Wei's hands. Every time he swung it up and down, the steel drill could penetrate deeper into the hard rock.

This duo was the most efficient. Many people tried to imitate Fang Wei's moves, but all failed.

Some things seem easy, but they are not so easy when they are in your hands.

During the break, Fang Wei explained to everyone the trick of using a sledgehammer to break stones.

"Hello everyone! I'm Tie Yanhong, the leader of Team 1 of Maoling, Xiangyang Commune. How about a labor competition between our two teams to see who can complete the task first?"

During the break, the "black girl" came again.

This time the other party introduced herself, and to everyone's surprise, this girl, who was about 20 years old, was actually the leader of their production team.

Fang Wei couldn't help but look at her a few times. She was quite tall, about the same height as Pan Lianhua, and estimated to be nearly 1 meters tall. Her physique was a bit stronger than Pan Lianhua, but she didn't look fat.

"Hello, I'm Fang Wei, captain of Xiatang Team 2 and also the leader of this trip."

Fang Wei walked up to the other party, greeted him, and introduced himself.

"So you're the young scholar? Captain Fang, you're a renowned talent in the Ming Dynasty. Our team has also planted the rice seeds you developed, the [Nanguang No. 58] and [Nongken ], and they're working very well."

Tie Girl smiled sweetly and took the initiative to shake hands with Fang Wei.

Then she looked at Fang Wei with a smile, and the meaning was self-evident, she just wanted to compete with him.

"Thank you for the compliment! You want to have a labor competition with us? Sure, come on now."

The corners of Fang Wei's mouth twitched twice, and his resentment towards Zheng Xianfa increased a little.

The nickname "Little Scholar" was invented by the other party, but it was unexpected that it spread. It is difficult to correct it now.

Of course, this was just a small matter. He casually accepted Iron Girl's invitation and participated in a labor competition with the other team.

The members of both sides are strong laborers. There are 21 people on Xiatang Team 20 and people on Maoling Team .

It doesn’t matter if there is one more or one less person, the key is that the other party does not have a tractor, so how should we calculate it specifically?
"Captain Fang, you have a tractor and an extra person. I'm thinking, for the sake of fairness, shouldn't we both share the tractor? Only then will the labor competition be meaningful."

The other party agreed to the labor competition, but Tie Yanhong put forward new requirements.

Fang Wei was immediately amused. This tough girl was really cunning. Maybe she had set her eyes on the tractor from Team Two?
But this is not a big problem. The current difficulty is not the transportation problem, but the fact that it takes too much time and effort to crush the boulders.

No one is stupid, so Deng Yuanen couldn't help but say, "If you want to use our tractors, just say so directly. Why go through so much trouble?"

"Captain Fang, just tell me whether you agree or not."

Tie Yanhong pretended not to hear what Deng Yuanen said, staring at Fang Wei with her eyes wide open.

"Okay, then let's do it. The time is from now until the end of the afternoon. Let's see which side can complete the task faster."

Fang Wei also felt that Tie Niang was interested in Hu Zi, otherwise why would she keep getting close to Team Two?

Although the other party was being petty, it was harmless. The purpose of the labor competition was to improve labor efficiency.

Everyone has a fixed task, so it doesn't matter if Deng Yuanen drives the tractor to help out a little.

So Fang Wei agreed to the other party's request.

Later, both sides returned to their work.

Fang Wei continued to swing the sledgehammer. While others took turns, he could do the work of two people alone, as if he had endless strength.

The hammer struck the steel chisel, sparks flying everywhere. He focused his attention on the point of impact, one, two, three times. A huge rock quickly fell apart.

Under his leadership, the other team members gradually mastered the rhythm and broke the stones faster and faster.

Deng Yuanen drove the tractor and worked on both sides. As time went by, the rubble on the Maoling Team 1 side had basically been cleared away, but the efficiency of breaking up large stones was very low. Basically, it took three trips for the Team 2 side to make one trip on the other side.

After lunch, both parties rested for an hour and then continued working.

(End of this chapter)