1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 3 Distributing Food

Generally, after receiving the enlistment notice, the reporting time will be specified on it.

Zhou Xu's document stated that he should assemble at the county's armed forces department on November 1st.

There are still more than ten days left, which is more than enough time for him to write a novella of tens of thousands of words.

In his previous life, he had read hundreds of books of various kinds of literature, among which rural literature was his favorite, so writing a story about the future was quite easy for him.

The key is that if you write a novel and it gets accepted, you'll have a chance to join the performing arts troupe!

Zhou Xu disliked training, and after joining the cultural troupe, his main responsibility became writing and filling out forms, making him a "clerical worker."

Although it hasn't been considered a civilian position in recent years, the performing arts troupe has never had any real power.

For an ordinary person like him, unless he receives a first-class merit in wartime and is recommended to military academy, he will remain a common soldier for life in the grassroots units.

"..."

I was lying in bed at night.

Zhou Xu kept reminiscing about that meal of stir-fried pork with chili peppers.

He had only been reborn for half a month, and he was already finding it hard to adjust. The late 1970s was a time of great scarcity of resources in China. Needless to say, many families in the brigade were eating bran and wheat bran... meat was scarce, and even dry rice was rare...

After a month without eating meat, he craved it after just one meal, which brought Zhou Xu's desire to submit his work and earn money to a small peak.

The crickets, toads, frogs, and crickets outside were making a lot of noise, but Zhou Xu slept soundly.

He had been thinking about joining the army, but now he was no longer afraid.

"Get up! The brigade has to assemble later!" Zhang Qiutian entered the house, skillfully began packing her things, and reminded Zhou Xu at the same time.

Zhou Xu got up and put on a linen garment.

In the morning, I had a simple bowl of rice porridge with some pickled vegetables.

"Dad, I think the army only pays eight yuan a month, right? How much did you get as a monthly allowance after you were discharged from the army?"

There are now many pension and compensation programs for veterans.

His father's position as battalion commander was not appointed by the state, but rather elected by the community after his demobilization. Therefore, his father was a demobilized soldier and should receive a monthly allowance.

Moreover, the brigade leader was considered a "semi-civil servant," not a real civil servant, while the secretary was a real civil servant.

"I am neither disabled nor sick, so why should I cause trouble for the country?"

"That's not right. Didn't you fight in the war before? This subsidy is rightfully yours. You should apply for it whenever you have time... Besides, what if something happens to me? Who will support you?"

Zhang Qiutian frowned and slapped Zhou Xu on the mouth: "Pah! Pah! You haven't even left yet, and you're already saying such discouraging things!"

"Pah, pah, I won't say it, but... I'm afraid you two won't be able to make a living if I'm not around. Besides, even though you're the team leader, your bonus based on work points might not be as much as a strong young man's... These past few years, you've been struggling to make ends meet..."

Zhou Xu couldn't really explain it. The land would be allocated in two years, and besides, he would be serving in the army for three years... It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried.

Zhang Qiutian nodded: "He makes sense. Besides, our son needs to get married. Bicycles, watches, tape recorders... don't all of these cost money? Is our little savings enough? We should still receive the money we are entitled to."

"..." Zhou Guoping did not answer.

Zhang Qiutian directly pointed out what Zhou Guoping cared about most: "Don't you think about yourself? You should think about your youngest son, right? You're a soldier, and with such a good background, his chances of being promoted in the future will be much greater, won't they?"

Hearing this, Zhou Guoping wavered.

"Hmm, I'll submit it in a few days and see." Zhou Guoping looked out the window, then thought that since his son had joined the army according to his wishes, what else was there to argue about?

It's time for me to change too.

"..."

The family finished their meal.

We went to the threshing ground to continue distributing the grain as we had done yesterday.

Seeing Zhou Guoping and his family approaching, the brigade secretary waved and greeted them: "Guoping, Xiaoxu, congratulations! One of you joining the army brings honor to our whole village."

Zhang Qiutian replied with a smile, "Secretary, isn't being talented also a form of military service? You're honored too!"

"Ah, all of you are honored." The secretary beamed, unable to contain his joy. He continued, "Let's continue distributing grain today. Whose house did we visit yesterday?" "We went to Zhou Dagu's house!"

"Oh! Zhou Dagu, 3100 points..."

The current system of recording work points is very simple: an adult male gets ten points for a day's work, and a woman gets nine points... The brigade secretary and team leader do not receive work points as a salary from the state.

Therefore, the brigade secretary and team leader usually receive more grain during these times.

"..."

There were no major natural disasters this year, but it wasn't a bumper harvest either; it was just average. After deducting the portion of grain that had to be handed over to the state, a strong adult man would receive about 300 jin of grain.

Zhou Xu was helping to distribute and move the grain when he was quickly stopped by the Party Secretary: "You'll be reporting for duty in a few days, so don't bother with village affairs. Just stay home and tidy up your things these next few days!"

"……fine."

"What work is left after the grain distribution? Your enlistment is the real big deal. It's a small token of our appreciation. After you join the army, send us lots of photos to remember the occasion. It would be best if you achieved some good results; maybe our brigade will have even more openings next year!"

"Yes, thank you, Secretary." Zhou Xu scratched his head.

The military now prefers soldiers from urban areas because they have higher levels of education and cultural literacy—it's that simple.

Therefore, of the two or three hundred slots allocated to a county town, the majority were allocated to cities, with very few to communes.

One reason Zhou Xu was selected was because of his status as a high school student.

"Teacher Li! Two thousand five hundred points, come and collect your food."

Li Xiaopan walked over slowly. She was an educated youth sent to the countryside, and had been in the brigade for about four or five years. Recently, she had been reported to return to the city.

But it was clear she was unlucky; she wasn't among the first to return to the city. She was in the second or third batch.

Several groups of educated youth returned to their hometowns one after another, until 79 when all of them finally returned.

Of course, their brigade had no shortage of male and female educated youth who abandoned their families... They were sweet to each other, but when it came to breaking up, they were very resolute.

Li Xiaopan received over 200 jin of grain.

Zhou Xu looked at her; she was travel-worn, wearing a simple gray shirt and a braid, but she was quite pretty, with bright, piercing eyes.

Watching Li Xiaopan take the two large hemp sacks full of grain, dragging them somewhat heavily.

Zhou Xu said, "Teacher Li, let me help you!"

After all, everyone was excitedly waiting for their food supplies to be distributed; who cared about other people's affairs? Zhou Xu was just a kind-hearted person who couldn't stay idle.

The two have known each other for a long time and have a decent relationship.

But it's not like those melodramatic period novels where he gets together with Li Xiaopan and then cries and begs her to stay in the countryside.

At most, we have a fairly good relationship.

With one hand carrying a burlap sack, she slowly dragged her own bag along, saying, "Thank you."

He followed Li Xiaopan into the house.

She quickly brought a cup of tea to Zhou Xu.

He asked somewhat anxiously:

"Huh? You really joined the army?"

"Don't you know? I've already enlisted and I'll be reporting for duty in a few days!"

Li Xiaopan recalled the time they used to read and discuss books together. Zhou Xu was one of the few friends she had when she came to teach in the countryside.

"Hey... is there anyone outside?" Li Xiaopan looked outside.

Finally, he rubbed his fingers together and took a deep breath: "Zhou Xu, I have to tell you something. Things aren't simple outside. There's going to be a war in the south."

Zhou Xu was surprised and asked in astonishment, "How did you know?"

Could it be that she's a time traveler from the female-oriented online community?
(End of this chapter)