Starting from 1950

Chapter 137 Mushroom Village

"With heads held high and chests puffed out, we crossed the Yalu River."

To safeguard peace and defend our motherland is to protect our hometown.

""

Amidst the resounding singing, the wheels rolled over the slightly muddy dirt road on the outskirts of Shenzhou. Inside the truck bed, the team members' faces showed both excitement at carrying out their first major mission and trepidation about the unknown rural life.

The vehicle was filled with a variety of items, including performance props, food, changes of clothes, bedding, personal belongings, and gifts purchased with special funds from the Limin Flour Factory.

Wu Xinxue sat at the very back of the carriage, the wind seeping in through the gaps in the canopy ruffling her short hair. She clutched a notebook filled with work plans and lists of people to be visited tightly in her hand, looking at it over and over again.

Su Yang leaned against the side of the car and closed his eyes to rest.

"Xinxue, may I pet your dog and birds?"

The speaker was a talented female comrade from the propaganda department, named Guoran, who had just been transferred from Tianjin to Limin Flour Factory last month.

Upon hearing this, the other five women in the carriage also looked expectantly at Xiaoyu and Xiaobai, who were guarding Su Yang on the left and right.

Wu Xinxue looked up from her notebook, smiled at Guoran, and said, "You can touch Xiaobai, but Xiaoyu doesn't really like it when others touch it."

As soon as she finished speaking, several devilish hands reached out towards Xiaobai simultaneously.

Wow! Its fur is so smooth!

"The ears feel great too!"

"It feels so much softer to pet than the big yellow dog my grandma used to raise!"

Feeling the women's touch, Xiaobai comfortably rolled over and even rubbed his head against their hands to tickle them.

Xiaoyu glanced at Xiaobai with disdain, then closed her eyes to rest, just like Su Yang.

The first stop for the Limin Flour Factory Art Troupe was "Mushroom Village," located about fifty miles southeast of Shenzhou, near the mountains.

This area is located in a hilly region, and the land is not very fertile, but the population is quite large, with a total of about 400 households.

Of the 27 people from these 15 households who went to the front lines as stretcher bearers or laborers, 11 have been confirmed to have died.

As soon as the truck stopped at the village entrance, they saw Old Yang, the head of the farmers' association, along with several members of the association and some villagers, eagerly waiting.

As soon as the car came to a stop, everyone jumped out, and Old Yang greeted them warmly.

Wu Xinxue immediately got into character, stepping forward gracefully: "Uncle Yang, we are workers from Shenzhou Limin Flour Factory. We came to Mushroom Village to help with the work, visit the families of martyrs and soldiers, and perform for everyone, responding to the call from our superiors! We apologize for disturbing you all!"

"Don't bother me! Don't bother me!" Old Yang was looking at mostly young women, and the leader, Wu Xinxue, was so beautiful that she looked like she had stepped out of a painting, which made him feel a little awkward.

Su Yang was the last to get off the train, while Xiao Bai and Xiao Yu stayed in the carriage to look at things, as he had instructed.

He glanced around at the people who had come to greet him.

My first impression was that it felt like I'd stumbled into a beggar's den!

Aside from a few people who looked like village officials, the other fifty or sixty people who came to greet them were clearly there to watch the excitement.

The village officials were wearing clothes without patches, and although their complexions weren't exactly rosy, they looked normal.

As for the villagers who came to watch the spectacle, their clothes were all patched, and they were all emaciated.

Su Yang's heart wavered. These people were obviously extremely poor. Did they even have any money left to donate?

After a simple welcoming ceremony, everyone walked together into the village.

The girls in the art troupe were visiting the countryside for the first time, and they were all looking around the village houses with some curiosity.

Most of the houses were mud-walled and thatched, with a few tiled houses.

The truck slowly entered the village, immediately attracting the attention of the children. Before long, a large group of little kids followed behind the truck.

"Woof woof!"

Xiao Bai saw several mischievous children trying to climb into the carriage and warned them.

"Wow! There's a dog!"

They hadn't gone far when the crowd and trucks arrived outside a large house.

This residence was twice as wide as the other courtyards around it, and all the houses were made of brick and tile.

Noticing everyone's stares, Old Yang explained with a smile, "This house used to belong to the head of our Mushroom Village. Later, that bastard was executed, and it was converted into the headquarters of the Farmers' Association."

Only then did the members of the art troupe notice a small wooden sign standing at the entrance of the courtyard, which read "Mushroom Village Farmers Association".

Su Yang thought to himself, "So that's how it is."

Although he traveled to this era and stayed in Shenzhou, he still frequently read books and newspapers.

Farmers' associations were a product of the abolition of the baojia system in rural areas after the founding of the People's Republic of China. They were grassroots organizations that cooperated with higher authorities in collecting grain and managing villagers.

However, compared to the later People's Commune, the current Farmers' Association is an organization with very little power.

Each village elects a director of the farmers' association and several members of the farmers' association, which is basically a form of local self-governance.

As more and more villagers gathered to watch, he couldn't help but frown.

He noticed that the villagers' attention was almost entirely focused on a few women, especially Wu Xinxue, whom most of the male villagers would steal glances at from time to time.

Su Yang felt inexplicably annoyed and said, "Uncle Yang, you'd better hurry up and settle our people. Our factory's drivers are in a hurry to drive back."

Old Yang looked at Su Yang upon hearing this, slightly surprised by his youth. However, since Wu Xinxue, the leader, didn't look very old either, he didn't dare to underestimate Su Yang, who was carrying a gun.

"Okay! I'll arrange it right away."

"Woof! Woof!"

"quack!"

Suddenly, Xiaobai and Xiaoyu's voices came from inside the carriage.

"What are you doing!" Driver Wang got out of the driver's seat with a gun in his hand.

Everyone looked over.

At the rear of the car, a man was seen running away into the distance.

"It's Liu from Kuaishou!"

"He tried to steal again! He served six months in jail for nothing, and he still hasn't changed his ways."

"His hand should be broken! Let's see if he dares to steal again!"

The villagers of Mushroom Village shared their thoughts, giving Su Yang and his group a general understanding of the situation.

This guy, nicknamed "Kuaishou Liu," is a habitual thief. He was detained by the police for six months last year for stealing from the village and was only released last month.

Upon hearing this, Su Yang raised an eyebrow, took the Mosin-Nagant he had been carrying on his back, and said to Old Yang, "Chairman Yang, I hope you can manage the people in your village well. Our Limin Flour Factory is a state-owned factory. If anyone dares to steal our things, then they are stealing public property, and we will not be polite."

Old Yang and many villagers were startled by Su Yang's tone.

"This is..." Old Yang looked at Wu Xinxue. Wu Xinxue was the first to speak to him, so he judged that Wu Xinxue was the leader. But who is Su Yang, this half-grown kid?

"Ahem! Let me introduce our comrades to you all."

Wu Xinxue cleared her throat and said, "My name is Wu Xinxue, from the propaganda department of Limin Flour Factory, and I'm also the captain of our art troupe this time; this is Su Yang, from the security department of Limin Flour Factory, and he's the vice-captain this time; this is Wang Xue, the sanitation worker at Limin Flour Factory, you can look for her if anyone feels unwell; this is Guoran..."

"9

She spoke clearly and quickly introduced everyone in the art troupe.

Old Yang was somewhat surprised that Su Yang, a boy in his late teens, was the deputy team leader, but he didn't ask any questions and quickly introduced himself: "My surname is Yang, and I am the director of the Mushroom Village Farmers' Association. Everyone in the village calls me Old Yang. These four are members of our Farmers' Association."

""

After the main people on both sides introduced themselves, Su Yang and his group finally entered the Farmers' Association compound.

It's no wonder it's the village head's house.

Five main rooms, six side rooms, and two rear rooms—a total of 13 rooms!

The farmers' association occupied the main hall for office use, and used two rear rooms to store miscellaneous items. The six side rooms were just enough for the members of the art troupe to stay in.

Since Su Yang was the only male in the group, it would be a waste for him to stay in three rooms by himself, so Wu Xinxue offered to share a room with him.

Everyone knew they were siblings, so no one thought much of it.

After everyone was settled in, Wu Xinxue, without even taking a break, immediately began a flurry of visits and arrangements.

The performance venue was the wheat drying ground opposite the farmers' association. Since the busy farming season had not yet arrived, Wu Xinxue arranged for others to do a simple cleaning.

Su Yang accompanied her to visit the homes of the families of martyrs and soldiers, bringing them towels, soap, a small bag of brown sugar, and a letter of condolence from the factory.

When faced with elderly women with white hair who have lost their sons, or young wives whose husbands are missing on the front lines, Su Yang doesn't say much. He simply helps them fetch water, sweep the yard, and repair the leaky windows.

For those households whose roofs needed repairs, Wu Xinxue used special funds provided by the factory to hire villagers from Mushroom Village to help.

The older women wiped away their tears, held the young women's hands, and talked incessantly about the deeds of their sons or husbands; the young wives, holding back their tears, thanked them softly.

For the first two days, young men in Mushroom Village often liked to hang around the female members of the art troupe.

People in the countryside face the loess soil with their backs to the sky, exposed to the wind and sun all day long. Even the most beautiful girl will be worn down and become rustic.

The women in the propaganda department were all exceptionally beautiful, even by city standards. They were also very fashion-conscious, always dressed neatly and beautifully, and they all wore face cream. The air smelled wonderful as they walked by.

Especially Wu Xinxue, during the two days she visited the families of martyrs and soldiers, was constantly stopped by some women who asked her all sorts of questions.

In the end, Su Yang couldn't stand it anymore and fired a shot into the air to scare them away.

After the visits to the families of martyrs and soldiers, it was time for the performances that the villagers of Mushroom Village had been eagerly anticipating.

"Hey! Deputy Captain Su, your eagle is amazing! It's even better than the best hunting dog in our village!"