Traveling through the Great Northern Wilderness and marrying the most beautiful educated youth.

Beside the beet fields of Wuyi Commune, dozens of people were carrying sprayers, sweating profusely with anxiety.

The jeep had just stopped.

Secretary Du came forward and grabbed Su Qingyun's arm.

"Qingyun, we've been waiting for you!"

"If we had arrived half a day later, these two thousand acres of sugar beets would have been gone!"

Su Qingyun glanced at the field.

The beet seedlings have just sprouted four or five leaves.

Many leaves have been eaten away, leaving only the veins.

The meadow moth crawled eastward along the furrows.

Densely packed, like a layer of moving black ash.

How many acres were affected by insects?

Secretary Du turned around and waved.

Old Lu from the commune's agricultural technology station quickly came over.

"About two thousand acres."

"almost?"

Su Qingyun looked at him.

"Aircraft spray pesticides on plots of land."

"A hundred acres more or a hundred acres less, and the flight path will be different."

Old Lu wiped his forehead.

"This...this bug can run away."

"How can energy be so accurate?"

At the back of the crowd, a girl holding a notebook hesitated before raising her hand.

"I measured it."

Old Lu turned around and glared at him.

"You little brat, don't get in the way!"

The girl pursed her lips.

He didn't put his hand down.

Su Qingyun beckoned to her.

"come over."

The girl then squeezed through the crowd and handed over the notebook.

"That Comrade Su Qingyun, right?"

"My name is Xu Chunyan, and I'm from the educated youth settlement in the commune."

"A total of 2,376 mu were affected by insects."

"The heaviest area is the western meadow, which covers 410 mu."

"More than 1,600 mu of sugar beet fields have met the prevention and control standards."

The notebook was filled with squares.

How many plants were checked in each plot of land?

A few insects on one plant.

Even the direction in which the insects moved was marked with arrows.

Su Qingyun turned two pages.

"How did you find out?"

Xu Chunyan pointed to the squares.

"Take ten plants every ten steps."

"It was checked three times in total."

"Once in the morning, twice at noon."

Old Lu curled his lip.

"Before she went to the countryside, her father worked at the plant protection station."

"Just because you've read a few books doesn't mean you know everything."

Su Qingyun didn't argue with him.

He took his notebook and went straight into the beet field.

Three locations were investigated.

The number of insects is not much different from what is recorded in the notebook.

The western meadow has the most insects.

Some of them have already started climbing eastward.

About twenty miles to the east is Shengli Farm.

Su Qingyun closed the notebook.

"Plant the flag where she marked it."

Old Lu's face flushed.

"President Su, I'm the head of the agricultural technology station..."

Su Qingyun glanced at him.

"Then tell me, where is the insect's mouth?"

Old Lu opened his mouth.

He remained silent for a long time.

Su Qingyun returned the notebook to Xu Chunyan.

"Take some men with you."

"Plant white flags at both ends, and red flags in the hardest-hit areas."

"Don't insert it in the wrong place."

Xu Chunyan nodded vigorously.

"clear!"

She had only run a few steps.

Two jeeps drove up to the field again.

Deputy Director Liang of the local agricultural bureau came downstairs.

"Qingyun, wait a minute!"

He was holding a telegram in his hand.

I walked over and first glanced at the insects in the ground.

"Victory Farm has also been infested with insects."

"More than 6,000 mu of sugar beets are all subject to national procurement quotas."

"The plane will go first."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Du immediately became anxious.

"Director Liang, we've been waiting for ages!"

"Besides, we invited them to come first!"

Deputy Director Liang waved his hand.

"Old Du, don't just think about your own family."

"The planned tasks of state-run farms have a greater impact."

Logically speaking, we should prioritize protecting that side.

Secretary Du looked grim.

But they dared not confront him directly.

Su Qingyun squatted down.

I drew a line on the ground with a twig.

"Victory Farm is to the east."

"This is the source of the insects."

"The west wind is blowing now."

Deputy Director Liang frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Su Qingyun pointed towards the meadow.

"The bugs came from this side."

"Attack Victory Farm first."

"The bugs here keep crawling eastward."

"We'll do it once today, and then again tomorrow."

Deputy Director Liang looked at the line on the ground.

There was still some hesitation on his face.

"But the Agriculture Bureau's opinion..."

Han Changsheng walked over.

He took out his anemometer and looked at it for a few seconds.

"Level 2 westerly wind".

"First, destroy the insect nest, then seal off the east side."

"There's nothing wrong with this flight route."

Deputy Director Liang looked up at him.

"Captain Han, isn't aircraft dispatch under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Bureau?"

Han Changsheng carefully put away the anemometer.

"The heavens are under my jurisdiction."

"Listen to the prevention and control plan for the insect infestation on the ground."

"Whoever's plan is right, we'll listen to them."

Deputy Director Liang was momentarily speechless.

He looked down at the insect again.

Finally, he waved his hand.

"OK."

"Let's do as Qingyun says first."

"But hurry up."

"Victory Farm can't afford to wait either."

After half an hour.

The roar of airplanes could be heard in the distance.

Xu Chunyan had already led her people to plant the flags.

Several shallow ditches were also dug around the meadow.

Sheets of white cloth were laid out along the path the insects took.

An-2 aircraft came crashing down from the south.

On the first trip, we didn't go into the sugar beet field.

Instead, it skimmed along the meadow and sprinkled a trail of medicinal mist.

The second time, they suppressed the insect population on the east side.

On the third trip, we finally passed through the severely affected sugar beet fields.

Deputy Director Liang kept staring at the watch.

"Is that all?"

"Wait a little longer."

Xu Chunyan squatted down next to the white cloth.

At first, only a few worms fell down.

Seven or eight minutes passed.

The insects on the grass began to fall.

The white cloth quickly turned black.

The swarm of insects, which had been crawling eastward, also stopped.

Some insects were circling around the edge of the ditch.

After climbing only a few steps, it curled up into a ball.

Xu Chunyan poked at it with a twig.

"Just now, there were at least twenty or so that were one foot wide."

"Currently, less than two are still movable."

Deputy Director Liang also squatted down.

He grabbed a handful of insects.

I looked at it for a long time.

He then slowly stood up.

"They really managed to trap the insect nest..."

Secretary Du grinned.

"Director Liang, Qingyun isn't wrong, is he?"

Deputy Director Liang patted the dirt off his hands.

"Don't try to sow discord in my life."

"Quickly load a plane full of medicine!"

After four sorties.

The hardest-hit areas have all been cleared.

The remaining scattered plots of land were sprayed by people carrying sprayers organized by the commune.

The agricultural technician went down to the field and inspected the area.

Less than 10% of the insects are still alive.

Secretary Du finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn it!"

"We've managed to save over 2,000 mu of sugar beets!"

After he finished speaking, he remembered something else.

He turned to look at Xu Chunyan.

"Chunyan, you've done a great job this time too."

Old Lu stood to the side, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"She just happened to be there..."

Deputy Director Liang reached out and took the notebook.

I turned two more pages.

"Is this what you call a coincidence?"

"His pest infestation reports are more accurate than yours, the station manager!"

Old Lu shrank his neck.

They dared not utter a sound.

Deputy Director Liang looked at Xu Chunyan.

"The agricultural bureau's pest monitoring station is short of staff."

"Are you willing to go?"

Xu Chunyan was stunned.

"I...I was a sent-down youth."

"My household registration is still with the commune..."

Deputy Director Liang returned the notebook to her.

"First, temporarily transfer him."

"We'll talk about the relationship later."

"Report to the Agriculture Bureau tomorrow morning."

Xu Chunyan hugged the notebook tightly.

Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

She spent seven years in the countryside.

I worked as a fire starter and raised pigs at the educated youth settlement.

I finally got into the agricultural technology station.

Every day, all I do is serve tea and read meters.

She didn't expect it.

There are actually people willing to read these things I've recorded.

"Director Liang, I'm willing!"

Old Lu's lips twitched a few times.

The agricultural bureau will come to check for pests in the future.

We might have to listen to this little brat.

The plane was reloaded with the medicine.

Flying towards Victory Farm.

But the situation on the ground is not over yet.

Han Changsheng took out the homework confirmation form.

Hand it to Secretary Du.

"The actual area treated was 2,280 mu."

"Sign and stamp."

Secretary Du took the order.

Just as I was about to put pen to paper.

Deputy Director Ma, who was standing next to him, suddenly tugged at his sleeve.

"etc."

He took the confirmation slip and looked at it.

"Why is there a homework fee?"

Su Qingyun was collecting maps.

Hearing this, he raised his head.

"Airplanes burn fuel."

"The maintenance crew needs to check it."

"Pilots also need to be paid."

"If we don't charge for homework, what do we charge?"

Deputy Director Ma frowned.

"Isn't this for disaster relief?"

"We are all socialist brother units."

"Talking about money...isn't that a bad thing?"

Several commune cadres nodded in agreement.

Before the plane arrived.

No one asked about the cost.

They all thought that once the Agriculture Bureau made a decision, the matter would be over.

Su Qingyun took out a document from her canvas bag.

"Guidance price for the Provincial State Farms Aviation Team".

"38 cents per mu."

"The medicine will be provided by the unit using the machine."

He pointed to the worksheet with his hand.

"Two thousand two hundred and eighty mu."

"A total of eight hundred and sixty-six yuan and forty cents."

"There is no transfer fee."

"Not a single penny was collected more than necessary."

Deputy Director Ma gasped.

"Over eight hundred?"

"That's enough to buy ten or so big, fat pigs!"

"Qingyun, you're charging so much for disaster relief?"

"Isn't this profiting from disaster?"

Han Changsheng's face darkened.

Just as he was about to speak.

Su Qingyun raised her hand to stop him.

"Director Ma."

"How many acres can you spray in a day, carrying those sprayers?"

"Six or seven mu, I guess."

"How many people would be needed for those 2,280 mu?"

Deputy Director Ma fiddled with the abacus beads a few times.

I couldn't figure it out.

Xu Chunyan stood to the side and spoke softly.

"At least 320 workers."

"This doesn't even include the cost of refilling the medicine."

"The insects won't stay in the ground; we can wait for more than 300 people to slowly kill them."

Su Qingyun put the documents away.

"If you're not willing to pay for this trip today..."

"become."

"I'll accept this 800-plus yuan."

Deputy Director Ma's face lit up with joy.

But Su Qingyun's next words silenced his laughter.

"Don't get bugs again."

"Let's clarify the accounts first."

"The plane will only take off when the settlement is agreed upon."

"Don't talk to me about style."

"They take farm workers' wages and talk about style while sacrificing engine lifespan."

"I can't comment on this style."

Deputy Director Ma's face flushed red and then turned pale.

"Isn't this just letting someone die?"

Secretary Du snatched the worksheet away.

Stop with the nagging!

"They saved over 2,000 acres of sugar beets, and they still complain about the price of over 800 yuan?"

"The bugs really ate it all."

"Are you going to compensate the country for its acquisition obligations?"

He picked up the pen and signed his name directly.

Then, the commune's official seal was affixed.

"Qingyun, we'll accept this money."

"The commune doesn't have that much cash on hand right now."

Su Qingyun took the order and looked it over.

"Put it in the book first."

"The fall beetroot season has arrived, swipe over here."

"I'm not here to collect a debt of life."

Secretary Du breathed a sigh of relief.

She reached out and patted his arm.

"That's more like it."

"No feast is complete without wine."

"Don't leave tonight, I'll have the cafeteria stew a chicken!"

"I'm not eating anymore."

Su Qingyun glanced up at the sky.

"There are several more waiting in line."

The voice just fell.

People from the commune office rode over on bicycles.

"Director Liang!"

"Three calls were made to the area!"

"Red Flag Commune, Dongshan Brigade, and the Third Military Reclamation Farm."

"We want planes for everything!"

Deputy Director Liang took the record.

It's giving me a headache.

An airplane.

Even divided into four parts, it's still not enough.

He thought about it.

He turned to look at Su Qingyun.

"Qingyun, logically speaking, the disaster is so severe."

"Let's put the planes under the unified management of the Agriculture Bureau."

"We'll discuss the costs at the end of the year."

Su Qingyun smiled after hearing this.

"Scheduling is possible."

"Year-end accounting won't work."

Deputy Director Liang's expression was rather unpleasant.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you worried the Agriculture Bureau will default on its debts?"

"It's not that I'm afraid of defaulting on my debts."

Su Qingyun pointed to the airplane in the sky.

Write a note today.

"He'll put in a good word for me tomorrow."

Everyone says they're in the most hurry.

"After flying for a month, the fuel is gone."

"The engine needs a major overhaul."

"Who will pay for this next?"

Deputy Director Liang rubbed his forehead.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Su Qingyun held up three fingers.

"Task Sheet"

"Homework Sheet"

"Settlement statement".

"The Agriculture Bureau prioritizes tasks based on their urgency."

"The air force is responsible for flight safety."

"Whoever uses the airplane pays for the operation."

"We won't take off until we get a single order."

Deputy Director Liang did not immediately agree.

He walked into the commune office.

He picked up the phone and dialed the prefectural committee.

A dozen minutes later.

He came out again.

The expression on his face was somewhat strange.

"Secretary Dong has agreed."

He also said…

Secretary Du curiously leaned closer.

"What did you say?"

Deputy Director Liang coughed lightly.

"Whoever wants to talk about style, pays for their own gas."

"We cannot use Qingyun's wealth to build a good reputation for ourselves."

The people around immediately burst into laughter.

Deputy Director Ma stood at the back of the crowd.

I wish I could disappear into a crack in the ground.

That evening.

The local agricultural bureau came up with a temporary solution.

The aircraft belongs to Beidahuang Farm.

Flight operations and aircraft maintenance were handled by the Provincial State Farm Aviation Team.

Disaster relief and response are coordinated by the local agricultural bureau.

Operating costs will be settled strictly according to the standards.

No organization is allowed to forcibly allocate these resources.

Disaster relief should not be used as an excuse to delay payment.

Three days.

The An-2 aircraft made 21 sorties.

A total of 12,460 mu were treated.

The homework fee alone was over 4,700 yuan.

After deducting the share of fuel, maintenance, and the aviation fleet.

The farm still has a little over 1,700 left in its accounts.

Su Qingliang held the account book.

At first, he was full of excitement.

In the end, the smile disappeared.

"Third Brother, it's been flying for three days."

"How come there's only so little left?"

Su Qingyun turned the page.

"The major overhaul reserve fund hasn't been mentioned yet."

"That's quite a lot of money, less than a thousand."

Su Qingliang's eyes widened.

"Then what's the point of buying a plane?"

Su Qingyun looked up at him.

"What's the point?"

"I own 10,000 mu of land, so I don't need to ask anyone for help."

"From now on, we won't need to ask anyone for help, whether it's tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of acres."

"When I'm not busy, I can earn back the money I spend on gas."

"Isn't that enough?"

Su Qingliang scratched his head.

"That's enough."

"But the agricultural bureau's work orders are already booked until next month."

"One aircraft? It seems like we can't handle it all."

Han Changsheng, who was standing next to him, was wiping his hands with a cloth.

He stopped upon hearing this.

"It's not just a feeling."

"We're just too busy."

He reached out and patted the wing.

"Based on this workload."

"If another one comes, we won't be idle."

Su Qingyun did not speak immediately.

He picked up the homework logbook on the table.

Seven more communes have already been arranged behind them.

There are also two state-owned farms.

All together, it covers more than 40,000 mu.

I watched for a while.

Su Qingyun closed the notebook.

"Let's fly first."

"The second plane..."

"It's time to ask the price."