Chapter 33 - 33

Chapter 33 The New Secretary?"Caiyun, are you home?"The Brigade Leader's front door was never closed, but Yun Ting always called out from the doorway before coming over." Sister Yun, you're here!""Little Educated Youth Yun, you've arrived?"Caiyun ran out of the house, with Aunt Meihuafollowing behind."I just went up the mountain and got lucky, I caught two Wild Chickens. Here's one for you to try.""Oh dear! You can keep it for yourself, why are you sending it to us? That won't do," Aunt Meihua said disapprovingly." Auntie, don't rush. I'm not giving this away for free. I'd like to trade you some wheat seeds, is that alright?""Ah! Of course, but what do you need the wheat seeds for?"It's no wonder she asked that question; nowadays farming is all collective, and nobody farms separately on their own."Oh, a relative asked me to help them change it.""Okay, how many do you want?""Three jin, please! Thank you, Auntie.""Oh, no trouble at all. Wait here, sit down and have a glass of water first." Aunt Meihuahurriedly went to pack some wheat for her.Caiyun brought Yun Ting a glass of water. Yun Ting thanked her, took it, and took a sip. "Oh! Caiyun, you even put sugar in it for me?""Hehe, Sister Yun, don't be so polite with me.""What did you do today? Why didn't you go to the market?""I didn't go anywhere; I'm helping my mother with the private plot of land!"A young woman came out of the house, smiling. "This must be little Educated Youth Yun, right? I'm Caiyun's Second Sister-in-Law.""Hello, sister-in-law! This is the first time I've met you! You're so gentle and poised.""Haha... Oh my, little Educated Youth Yun has such a sweet tongue. You're just a country woman, how could you say that? You're making your sister-in-law feel embarrassed.""Did your sister-in-law just get back today?""Yes! The autumn harvest is coming soon, so I'm buying some meat for the family. My second brother and I have to go to work and can't come back to help, so we can only make sure the family eats well."Brigade Leader's eldest son, Li Fanrong, is serving in the army in Guangdong Province and is unmarried. His second son, Li Changsheng, works at the Steel Plant in town. His wife, Zhou Xia, works at a food factory. They have a son, Li Fusheng, also known as Xiaozhuzi."Haha... Sister-in-law, labor is labor no matter where you are."Zhou Xia is a girl from the town, but she has a good personality and doesn't look down on people from the countryside. Back when she was dating Li Changsheng, Aunt Meihua was worried that her daughter-in-law would look down on them from the countryside."Little Educated Youth Yun, come here, Auntiehas packed it for you, five pounds, a full five pounds.""Oh, Auntie, thank you so much. I'll head back now.""Hey, Sister Yun, stay for dinner before you go back!" Caiyun pulled her along."Yes! Little Educated Youth Yun, don't be so polite." Second Sister-in-law Zhou Xia chimed in."That's right, little Educated Youth Yun, look, thisWild Chicken..." Auntie has already accepted it, and you're still being so polite."No, I'll eat when I get back. I already started stewing it before I came here. Aunt Meihua, I traded the Wild Chicken with you for wheat. Come to think of it, I got a better deal!" Yun Tingsaid and ran out in a flash."That girl, she's always so energetic...""Little Educated Youth Yun has such a nice personality…" Zhou Xia had heard her mother-in-law and sister-in-law mention Yun Ting more than once, and even her own son always referred to her as Sister Yun. After meeting her today, she was indeed a likable person."Who says otherwise? Who knows which brat will get lucky this time!"Zhou Xia's mind raced. "Mother, how about we let young Yun, the educated youth, meet my older brother? What if things work out?""You think I don't want to? But the eldest is already twenty-five, while the youngest, Yun, is only sixteen! How could he possibly be interested in your older brother?""Why not? Older people are more caring, and my older brother is a soldier, so he's not bad either."" Second Sister-in-law, I think Sister Yun would definitely not like my eldest brother. She's so cheerful, while my eldest brother is such a quiet person, she would never like him.""You brat, how dare you talk about your own brother like that?" Aunt Meihua pinched her daughter's ear. She could say whatever she wanted, but no one else could say a bad word about her son."Ouch, Mom, it hurts, it hurts..."Yun Ting had no idea that Aunt Meihua's family was trying to bring her into their home! She was enjoying a delicious bowl of Wild Chicken stew with mushrooms, and she could easily eat two large bowls of rice.Zhou Yang poked at the rice in his bowl, having no appetite at all. He had wanted to go to Yun Ting to exchange it for chicken, but Lu Jiayanstopped him."Have you forgotten how you almost draggedEducated Youth Yun into this mess last time? It hasn't been that long!" Lu Jiayan's words made him stop thinking about it, but the aroma was so irresistible that he could hardly control himself."Then I won't exchange it for money, I can exchange it for something else, right?""Are you trying to annoy people to death?""Oh well…"Lin Xue hasn't been talking to anyone in the courtyard lately, except for Lu Jiayan. She especially avoids Yun Ting. She's been going to the old Educated Youth area. If the rent hadn't been paid in one lump sum, she probably would have moved back to Educated Youth Point.Yun Ting sighed, "Lu Jiayan truly lives up to his reputation as the male lead in the book; his charm hasn't diminished at all!" She recently discovered that even Wang Lijuan from the old Educated Youth group seems to have a bit of a crush on Lu Jiayan! She's now very curious: Does Lin Xue know? She's become best friends with one of her love rivals...tsk...the real show is yet to come!According to the information she received fromAunt Meihua, it seems that another batch of Educated Youth will arrive after the autumn harvest. By now, the Brigade Leader is probably worried so much that he'll have a few more gray hairs.In the book, among the new batch of educated youth, there is one named Hao Yan, who is the boyfriend arranged by Lu Jiayan's family. Lu Jiayan has only recently managed to get some favor with Yang Qingqing, but she will probably be brought back to reality soon. Just thinking about it gives her a headache.Of course, she, as a bystander watching the drama unfold, used these things to pass the time when she was bored.——The autumn harvest has begun…The brigade leader started by calling a meeting. " Comrade!" His rough voice boomed, making the loudspeaker crackle. "The corn tassels are already scorching, and the soybean pods are starting to burst! We still have sorghum and millet to harvest. The task is extremely difficult.The Commune Party Committee has given a strict order—this year's autumn harvest must be completed five days ahead of schedule! OurXiangyang Brigade won the county's 'Iron Ox Award' last year, so we must put in even more effort this year!""Good..." the villagers echoed loudly.Brigade Leader The Brigade Leader suddenly lowered his voice and pulled a crumpled newspaper from his pocket: "The newspaper says that a production team in Henan implemented a'segmented contracting system,' and their efficiency doubled. Let's try it too! Each work group will be assigned a plot of land, and those who exceed their quota will get two extra work points!" Excited chatter erupted from the crowd, but he abruptly waved his arm: "Stop talking! After the meeting, all group leaders stay behind to receive their task sheets! Chairman Mao taught us—'Make up your minds, fear no sacrifice, overcome all difficulties, and strive for victory'! Let's go!"And you know what? Such a passionate speech was really inspiring, making everyone want to harvest all the grain right away.Before the words were even finished, the production team's copper bells were already ringing loudly. The members shouldered their farm tools and rushed to the fields. The rising sun cast long shadows of them, which, together with the heavy crops on the ridges, formed a golden wave..."There's one more thing. During the autumn harvest, the new Secretary will be going to the countryside for an inspection. Everyone should pay attention and make a good impression, so the new Secretary can see the brilliance of ourXiangyang Brigade...""The new Secretary?"