I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Zhou Zhonghai was startled awake by the thunder. He stood up in a daze: "Xu Zhengtai, make a call, make a call! Has the wheat been stored in the warehouse yet?"

"Minister Zhou, don't worry, even if it rains knives, we won't be afraid. All the wheat in the county has been stored in the granary."

Xu Zhengtai lay on the sofa, talking on the phone all night before finally closing his eyes.

"Yes, they've all been put into storage, they've all been put into storage."

Zhou Zhonghai lit a cigarette and stood in the corridor outside the office, watching the dark clouds press down layer by layer, a storm was about to break.

"Minister Zhou, how did you know there would be a rainstorm in three days?"

"In my experience, it's abnormal for the sun to be so bright. It's like a light bulb; if the voltage is too high, it'll be so bright you can't open your eyes, and then, bang, it'll explode," Zhou Zhonghai shared his experience.

"Impressive, you have even more experience than the old farmer."

"Just kidding, of course I have experience. Otherwise, why would I be the Minister of Agriculture?"

"You're right," Xu Zhengtai said with an awkward smile.

"It seems like we haven't had meat for three days, right? Does your county's vegetable store not sell meat?"

"Yes, we'll have meat for lunch, braised pork belly, is that alright?"

"Okay, don't make pumpkin. I feel like throwing up just looking at pumpkin."

"Winter melon...would that work?"

"Couldn't you have used potatoes instead?"

"Okay, let's switch to potatoes."

"Secretary Xu, wait a minute, did the potatoes have a bumper harvest this year too?"

"Yes, there are at least several hundred thousand kilograms of potatoes in the whole county. You, you have to find a way."

"Hundreds of thousands of kilograms, great! At eight cents a kilogram, that's a lot of money."

"Minister Zhou, there are too many potatoes; one province can't possibly consume them all."

"Secretary Xu, do you think Beijingers like to eat potatoes?"

"You probably...like it too, right?"

"Well, I need to go see my old commander. I'll bring him some potatoes, peanuts, and soybeans. Oh, and get me a bag of the early-harvested soybeans. I'm going to see my old commander."

"yes!"

Qiaoqiao was awakened by the thunder. She opened her eyes groggily, sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), and felt as if she had entered another world.

Outside, a fierce wind and rain raged, and dark, rolling clouds obscured the sun, making it feel like nighttime even though it was noon.

Hu Xiaomei also woke up. She fearfully pulled the sheet over herself and said, "Is this the end of the world?"

"With such a strong wind and rain, if the wheat isn't harvested by now, it will all rot in the fields," Qiaoqiao said, still shaken.

The two men peered out the window and saw their family's big yellow dog and little yellow dog having a wild time in the wind and rain.

"The rain has soaked through, it's time to plant soybeans. Qiaoqiao loves to eat tofu the most," Hu Xiaomei muttered.

"Back in the military family compound, Sister Liu would always exchange tickets with me. I especially liked the tofu tickets; they were delicious and inexpensive—two pieces of tofu for just one cent, a big bowlful. Wenhui is very picky; he'll only eat a dish two or three times before he'll stop, but he'll eat tofu. Once my family grows soybeans, won't we have more tofu than we can eat?"

"No way, we need to sell it for money."

"My dad makes delicious tofu."

"Xiaowei also likes to eat tofu and drink soy milk."

Inside the house, Qiaoqiao and Hu Xiaomei chatted idly, while outside, Qiaoqiao's grandfather and father squatted under the eaves, smoking their pipes and watching the heavy rain with amusement.

"I heard that our in-laws predicted this heavy rain, which is why they issued a notice that all the wheat in the county must be stored in the granary within three days." Qiaoqiao's father took a puff of his cigarette.

"I knew it was going to rain," said Qiaoqiao's grandfather.

"Then why didn't you say so?"

"Zhong Hai already said it, what else can I say? Would I be stealing his credit?"

"We didn't ask you to go to the commune to say it, just say it at home."

"You don't understand, and when I say it, it sounds like I'm showing off."

"Hindsight is 20/20."

"Hey kid...go dig up some potatoes, we'll have them for dinner tonight."

"Dad, it's raining heavily. Let's wait until it stops before we go."

They fell silent, watching with great interest as the wind howled past, startling the big yellow dog who quickly called for its puppies to return to their owner for shelter.

A three-hour downpour washed the sky clean.

Qiaoqiao's mother took a nap, watched the rain, and then began preparing dinner.

Zhou Xiaowei, having had a good sleep, wobbled along and tugged at her grandmother's clothes, wanting to eat potatoes.

"Okay, eat up. It's already grilled. Go play with the little yellow dog for a while, and you'll be able to eat in a bit."

Qiaoqiao's mother coaxed Xiaowei, saying that potatoes absorb a lot of oil and water, and that the child actually liked to eat them.

In the kitchen basket, there was a basket of large potatoes; I'd be stir-frying a plate of shredded potatoes for dinner.

"Mom, the potatoes in the city aren't as good as the ones at home."

"That's right, the ones grown in sandy soil all have yellow flesh and are very sweet. One seedling can probably produce seven or eight pounds of potatoes. What a coincidence! So, where do you plan to sell all these potatoes?"

"The cafeteria, the cafeteria's favorite dish is braised pork belly with potatoes."

"Every household has potatoes, not just tens or hundreds of kilograms. It would be a pity if there were no market for them."

"Don't worry, Dad will find a market for it."

"My family has tens of thousands of kilograms of them. If we sold them all, we could make several hundred yuan."

Qiaoqiao's mother had mixed feelings. She was happy because she used to be able to save less than two hundred yuan a year, but now she could earn several hundred yuan by growing potatoes.

The worry is that they won't sell, and all the money will go to waste. Potatoes need a lot of oil to taste good; otherwise, they'll make you hungrier the more you eat them, and rural people don't like them.

The Minister of Agriculture's role is far more than simply providing farmers with new wheat and corn seeds. To truly enrich farmers, the sales volume of agricultural products is crucial.

Farmers are not afraid of hardship or fatigue, but they are afraid that what they plant will rot in the ground.

Zhou Zhonghai didn't care how many times the wheat in Tonggang County had increased in price. He took several bags of crops and went to Beijing with Gu Quan.

The Minister of Agriculture, accompanied by his secretary, traveled by train for a day and a night, carrying sweet potatoes, potatoes, soybeans, peanuts, eggplant peels, pickled cucumbers...

After leaving the train station, it was still a distance from Commander Pu's house, but luckily there were pedicabs available. I hailed one for two yuan.

"Prices in Beijing are really high. It costs two yuan for a two- or three-mile walk, enough for me to eat at Huailin University for two days," Zhou Zhonghai muttered.

"Uncle, are you visiting relatives in Beijing?" the tricycle driver said warmly.

"Yes, Beijing is great. Beijing is magnificent and majestic."

"That's right, you can make money in Beijing if you're willing to put in the effort," the driver laughed heartily.

"You guys are really ahead of the curve in the whole country, illegally transporting goods by cart. Isn't that illegal?"

"Last year we broke the law and the urban management officers caught us, saying it affected the city's appearance. This year we won't break the law. People like you from out of town, carrying so much stuff, wouldn't even be able to find a bus stop without our drivers. We're here to serve the people."

"It's convenient, but it's also really expensive. This bag of potatoes of mine probably doesn't even cost two yuan."

"That's right, otherwise how could it be Beijing? Beijing is a model for cities across the country, and its economic reforms must also be at the forefront."

"Brother, that makes sense. Since Beijing has pedicabs, our small town can have them too. We can just charge one yuan."

"Haha, buddy, you have a good eye. Following Beijing's lead is always the right thing to do. Buckle up, we're heading downhill..."

Zhou Zhonghai pondered, realizing he needed to have a good talk with Fu Sanjun when he got back. Beijing was leading the way, and Huailin was following suit; this was following the Party's lead.