The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 17: Applying the Past to the Present and Building Socialism

The rush to harvest was a very difficult job even during the glorious years when agriculture was learning from Dazhai.

The weather is hot and humid, and people can't wait to work shirtless to feel comfortable.

But corn leaves are sharp and can cut the skin, and corn cobs and fluff stick to the skin and make people itchy all over. This pain and itching is more uncomfortable than heat.

So when entering the cornfield, you have to wrap yourself up tightly.

This is not only tiring and uncomfortable, but also physically and mentally tormenting.

Xu Weidong is big and can't stand the heat.

He had to take off his clothes to work anyway, so there were red marks on the front and back of his neck from corn leaves, as if he had been scratched by eighteen grown girls.

During the break, Zhu Tao squatted on the ridge and grinned wickedly: "Old Xu, you bloodthirsty bastard, when you get back to the city, tell the neighborhood committee that you got injured fighting Soviet revisionist spies!"

Xu Weidong is open-minded.

He puffed out his chest, revealing the golden hair from corn silk wrapping. "This is the medal I won for supporting farmers in the autumn harvest campaign. First-class merit!"

He looked at Qian Jin and laughed, "You're quite good! When we get off work and go to the bathhouse, I'll make sure you get two pounds of cornmeal!"

The other team members quickly took off their clothes and wiped themselves, each with an ugly look on their faces:

"I knew I wouldn't come."

"Liu Youniu said we could benefit from joining their production team, but he fooled us. Isn't this just torture?"

"Let's go back to Liu Youniu's house and deal with him."

Zhou Yaozu advised: "How can you go to the countryside without suffering?"

"Besides, this support operation is to harvest corn, so we'll have to go into cornfields wherever we go!"

Some team members insisted on taking their anger out on Liu Youniu and were determined to make him pay when they returned to the city.

Qian Jin couldn't bear to watch it anymore.

It's normal to complain a few times, but to make trouble for Liu Youniu is taking your anger out on others.

He said: "First, the captain is right; second, Brother Niu didn't cheat us."

"Now that we're here, we can do the work of transporting corn. If we were in other production teams, we'd probably be stuck in the cornfield and couldn't get out!"

A young man named Feng Guangyuan exploded in anger: "Qian Jin, come on, we have to listen to the captain and also listen to your teachings? Let me tell you, it's not your turn to speak here!"

"Comrade Qian Jin has a high level of awareness. Didn't you see that he was praised by the old farmer just now?" someone else said sarcastically.

Qian Jin didn't tolerate these people and directly started to criticize them:
"If you have the guts, go back to the city and ask the neighborhood committee to find you a job. Don't stay in the commando team and let yourself suffer."

"You can do whatever you want. I'm not afraid of being tired."

"I'm about to drill into the cornfield. I really can't believe that a grown man like me can do the work that women and old people can do?"

After the rest, he turned back and went into the cornfield again.

Xu Weidong pointed at the three people who were talking: "You three are destroying internal unity. You are just so mean."

"I am a warrior armed with the leader's ideas. I am not afraid of hardship or fatigue. I will also work in the cornfield!"

"Old Pig, follow me!"

Zhu Tao, who was picking his toes:?
Zhou Yaozu also quietly went back.

Qian Jin tied his head with a towel and worked in the field with gritted teeth.

His hard-working attitude impressed the members, and when they took a break, several people gathered around to chat with him.

Someone asked about his family.

Someone asked about his background.

Someone asked him about his housing situation in the city.

Then a girl with long braids sat shyly beside him...

Qian Jin was a little panicked.

During the autumn harvest, not only the production teams were busy, but also the supply and marketing cooperatives in the commune.

A salesman was carrying an ice cream box on his Forever bicycle, wandering around the production team's fields, talking nonsense:

"Bolshevik popsicles are five cents, bourgeois cream ice cream is fifteen cents!"

Liu Wangcai took charge, and the production team paid for more than twenty popsicles and sent them over:
"Are you feeling hot, leaders? Come, have a popsicle to cool down."

There are many children in the fields.

The kids who were drilling through the haystacks and digging in the mud rushed over when they saw the popsicles, swallowing their saliva and looking at the popsicles.

Members from well-off families spend their own money to buy popsicles for their children to satisfy their cravings.

But there are also many families who have difficulty in getting food and do not have spare money to buy popsicles for their children.

The child was crying, making a fuss and rolling around, but there was nothing we could do.

Xu Weidong was very righteous. He felt his trouser pocket and asked the others, "How much money do you have? I'm running out of money. Let's treat the kids to some popsicles."

Everyone was silent.

Xu Weidong looked at Zhu Tao.

Zhu Tao spread his hands and said, "Don't you understand my family's financial situation? I'm rich, but why am I still embarrassing myself in the labor commando?"

Qian Jin, who was about to take out the money, stopped and said, "It's not fun to treat people to popsicles."

"Well, today, on behalf of the commando team, I'll treat you fellow villagers to something fresh."

He asked Liu Wangcai to find someone to fetch a large bucket of well water.

The popsicles became even colder when the cool well water was thrown in, and a layer of small water droplets suddenly appeared on the outside of the iron bucket.

Feng Guangyuan laughed teasingly at this: "Alright, the problem isn't the lack of supply, but the inequality. Now everyone can have a sip of popsicle water."

Qian Jin didn't say anything.

He asked Liu Youniu to take the fruit powder from the net bag he had left in the warehouse. The fruit powder had already been unpacked and poured into cans.

Take the sour plum powder from two cans and sprinkle them into the bucket. After stirring, you will get a large bucket of iced sour plum soup.

He scooped half a bottle for Xu Weidong: "Try it."

Xu Weidong knew what it was, and after taking a sip, his eyes lit up: "Hey, sour plum soup!"

"Where did this good stuff come from?"

Qian Jin explained, "I bought it on the black market. It's produced by the Shanghai Yimin Food Factory!"

"Captain Zhou, Captain Liu, Brother Danniu, have a drink to quench your thirst..."

Zhou Yaozu exclaimed: "It really tastes like Jiangnan sour plum soup. I drank this a lot when I was working in the countryside on Chongming Island."

Liu Wangcai brought out a mottled army green kettle with the red lettering badly peeling off.

Qian Jin looked carefully and could probably recognize the traditional Chinese characters for "Hundred Regiments Battle Award"!
All the members who were taking a break, young and old, gathered around.

A bucket of iced sour plum soup was quickly scraped clean, and the people who drank it praised it highly, and also praised the commando team who treated them.

Liu Wangcai sighed: "Thanks to the leaders, my team members were able to drink sour plum soup for the first time in their lives."

No one doesn't like to hear good words.

Most of the commandos stood in line and made money.

The sea breeze blew through the cornfield, gently brushing everyone's skin with coolness.

The cold sour plum soup took away the heat in everyone's hearts.

For a moment, the only sounds on the ground were the laughter of children.

Feng Guangyuan and his two companions sat alone in a corner awkwardly.

They didn't feel comfortable coming to drink sour plum soup, and Qian Jin didn't greet them - he simply couldn't tolerate their bad habits.

After a short rest, Liu Wangcai stood up and asked, "Comrades, have you rested enough? Let's continue working."

"The city leaders treated us to sour plum soup. Corn only harvests once a year, and this is the first time the leaders have treated us to a meal. Let's work harder!"

Qian Jin tied the towel around his head.

Just grit your teeth and do it.

The Hongxing Liujia Production Team did not have electricity yet, so when night fell, the day's work was over.

Dusk is falling and the moon is above the willow trees.

Kerosene lamps were lit one after another in each household.

The clinking sound of repairing farm tools mixed with the sizzling sound of cooking are both pleasant to the ears.

Smoke came out from the cracks in the thatched roofs, carrying the sweet aroma of boiled corn and steamed sweet potatoes, which spread across the fishing village, the smell piercing the heart.

The dinner to entertain the commando team was held at Liu Wangcai's home.

Qian Jin walked into Liu Wangcai's yard. Liu Wangcai was angry: "They are leaders from the city, and you ask them to drink alcohol?"

"Go, old boy, run to the commune and buy two bottles of wine on credit. At least they have to be 80-cent Daqu."

Qian Jin stopped the boy who was about to run. He pulled Liu Wangcai and said, "Captain Liu, why let the child go out after dark?"

"Here, I brought a few bottles of wine. If it works, we can drink this tonight."

As soon as the cap of the Erguotou bottle was unscrewed, Liu Wangcai, who was used to drinking inferior liquor, immediately exclaimed: "This is good wine, it smells good."

He felt a little embarrassed again: "But I can't drink this tonight."

"You came to the countryside to support our autumn harvest, and now we have to drink your soda and your wine? We're just eating you. If anyone knows about this, they'll laugh at us."

Qian Jin was also a little embarrassed: "It's okay, Captain Liu, I'm telling you the truth, I actually need you and our Red Star Liu family to help me."

Liu Wangcai's wife just came out of the kitchen, and Qian Jin stuffed a net bag into her hand: "Aunt, I brought you some small gifts."

Liu Wangcai's wife looked at the heavy net bag, and for a moment she didn't know whether to accept it or not: "Boss, what are you doing? What are you doing?"

Qian Jin directly stuffed the net bag into her hand and said, "It's nothing special. It's just a small token of my appreciation to our team."

After stuffing the net bag into the person's mouth, he forced the person into the kitchen.

Liu Wangcai rolled a cigarette firecracker and said, "Boss, just tell me what you need my help with. There's no need to force anything on my family."

"You come to our production team to help. It would be great if our production team could help you."

This is from my heart.

The members are all willing to establish relationships with city people.

In the future, when I go to the city, I will have a place to stay, or if I need any tickets, I will have a source to exchange them.

Qian Jin said, "Let me not beat around the bush. The truth is, I personally like to tinker with old things."

"So I wondered if there were any old items in our production team?"

"I'm not speculating, I just enjoy it, so I want to use some of the merchandise to see if I can exchange it with the members for some old items!"

Liu Wangcai flicked the ash from his cigarette and said hesitantly, "Logically speaking, my members drank your sour plum soup and my family accepted your wine and meat. I shouldn't refuse your help."

"But policy doesn't allow us to do private transactions. Isn't that just growing a capitalist tail?"

Qian Jin said: "Of course not, we are giving gifts to each other and helping each other."

"I'm not buying your stuff, I'm exchanging it. I'm exchanging something I can't use for something you can't use."

"Besides, we have policy guidance."

He found an editorial in the Red Flag magazine sent by Zhang Hongbo:
"The country has launched a call to 'use the past for the present' and to carry out cultural relic collection work to promote socialist construction!"

Liu Wangcai turned on his flashlight and looked carefully. Finally, he made up his mind: "Okay, I have a few things at home, but there are too many people here. How about we wait until after dinner to look at it?"

(End of this chapter)