In 1962, Awakening of Insects occurred. The wind was surging, and among the continuous clouds, flashes of thunder appeared and disappeared, and from time to time there was a rumble of thunder.
Spring thunder bursts. The folks of Maixiang Brigade did not hide in the house. They stood in the courtyard or under the eaves. They all looked up at the continuous heavy clouds in the sky, their eyes full of expectation.
"When it moves, the wind and rain are as dark as the thunder and lightning!" Wang Zhong stood on the corridor with his hands clasped, raising his hands to look at the sky. On the left and right sides, stood a boy with an extremely tall chest.
The two boys have short hair and long robes. The one on the left is muscular, slightly taller than half a head, and has slender arms. He is the younger brother Wang Zi'an, and the one on the right is slimmer and older brother Wang Ziping.
Big Red and Red Red squatted on the ground, sitting on either side of the brothers, one on the left and the other on the right, sticking out their tongues, breathing heavily, and looking at the sky curiously.
Above the roof, birds and smoke rise into the sky.
"This drought is finally over!" I have often heard about the three-year difficult period before, and it was also shown in TV dramas. But when you really put yourself in this world and experience this period, you can truly understand the hardships.
Wang Zhong's own family is okay, after all, Wang Zhong is here, but for other villagers, although Wang Zhong has made sufficient preparations in advance, they still haven't been able to eat a few full meals in the past three years. The folks in the Maixiang Brigade ate a lot of dumplings, tree roots and bark.
In 1961, even during the busy farming season, it was hard to have enough food. The little emergency food left in the warehouse was finally distributed to the villagers, and the villagers rushed to plant some in time. Buckwheat and vegetables finally made it through.
Compared with other brigades, the life of the Maixiang Brigade can be said to be comfortable. Not to mention the rural areas, even those who have jobs in the county and some with a large population are hungry and full. Most of the time I eat watery meals.
"Boom!" After a bright thunder across the sky, there was a loud noise that shook the sky and the earth. Even the window and coffin seemed to be shaken three times.
The three fathers and two hunting dogs looked expectantly at the dark sky, looking forward to the coming rainstorm. But at this moment, a loud cry brought the three of them back from their thoughts.
"Wow~~~"
"Oh~~~ Don't cry, don't cry! Mother is here, mother is here!" Jiang Hongguo's voice came out. But at this moment, several raindrops as big as beans fell from the sky. Wang Zhong's eyes were sharp, like an eagle.
"It's raining!"
"Is it raining?" The two sons reached out from the corridor in unison and looked at the dry yard. Before they could ask, sparse water drops had already fallen.
A few lucky ones fell into the palms of the two brothers, but within a moment, the originally pattering water gradually turned into a curtain of water, pouring down, and the big water drops hit the green tiles of the roof. There was a crisp sound on the roof, and the rainwater on the roof gathered into a stream, sliding down the tile ditch and dripping from the eaves.
"It's raining so hard!" The two brothers were a little excited. This was the first time they had seen such heavy rain in three years.
"It's raining a lot!" Looking at the dark sky, Wang Zhong couldn't help but smile.
Only those who have truly experienced it can understand the suffering of three consecutive years of drought. In the first year, there were still wild vegetables to dig, but then the drought became worse year by year, and there were even fewer wild vegetables. The villagers could only dig grass roots. Peel off the bark, mash it into puree, add a pinch of salt, cook it into wild vegetable soup, and eat it with a little corn porridge or sweet potato porridge.
Afraid that their two sons would be lax and show off outside, Wang Zhong and Jiang Hongguo rarely ate dry food. They cooked porridge most of the time. However, compared to other families' porridge, which was clear and watery, the Wang family's porridge was unusual. Sticky, three years have passed, and the nine-year-old brothers are just like the wheat seedlings that broke the ground, growing in stature. Now Jiang Hongguo has to take care of her daughter Zijin.
Zijin was born last summer. When he was born, he only weighed six pounds and two taels. For a single child, this weight can only be said to be quite satisfactory. Zijin was completely different from his two brothers. Ziping and Zian were unusually quiet when they were young. , he didn’t make much noise when he was older, but Zijin was very noisy and would cry loudly at every turn.
Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, Wang Zhong took off his clothes, shirtless, took off his shoes, rolled up his trousers, and walked barefoot into the rain curtain, letting the pouring rain pour on him, and the big raindrops hit him. It still hurts a little bit on my body.
Wang Zhong opened his arms, raised his head and closed his eyes, letting the dense raindrops hit his face. When Da Hong and Er Hong saw their master walking into the rain, they stood up and ran into the rain curtain, circling around Wang Zhong and shouting happily.
The brothers Ziping and Zi'an also followed suit, taking off their clothes and shoes, and rushed into the rain. Wang Zhong suddenly became interested.
"Get away!" As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately spread his legs and started punching in the rain. Palm techniques, boxing techniques, elbow techniques, leg techniques, grappling, Bagua, Xingyi, Tai Chi, Baji, Yanqing, foot poke... don't stick to those fixed routines, fist, palm, leg, elbow, Do it however you feel comfortable, and fight however you want.
Changing the palm is like dragging a knife, and punching out is like stabbing a spear. Unknowingly, Wang Zhong was immersed in a special realm, and the true energy in his body moved accordingly. It moved like a thunderbolt, was as powerful as a swimming dragon, and was as powerful as thunder. Each punch and palm carried great power. , seeing the two brothers next to them excited, they also began to fight.
Listening to the familiar shouts coming from outside, Jiang Hongguo walked to the door with his daughter who had been comforted by the general in his arms, and saw the father and son, naked and boxing in the rain. Although he was a little surprised, looking at what looked like outside Instead of stopping the three people under the pouring rain, a bright and gratified smile appeared on their faces.
Looking forward to the stars and the moon, she finally looked forward to the rain. Jiang Hongguo was extremely excited. If she hadn't been holding her daughter in her arms, she would have even wanted to rush into the rain curtain and get a good shower.
In fact, the entire Maixiang brigade and countless villagers, both adults and children, couldn't help but rush into the rain and let the heavy rain come on.
Some were so excited that they even lay down in the yard, letting the raindrops fall on themselves, with happy smiles on their faces.
The heavy rain lasted for more than an hour, then gradually lightened up, and the originally flat yard became muddy. At night, the rain stopped.
Then came the continuous drizzle that lasted for several days. Although it was intermittent, greenery gradually appeared on the previously bare barren mountains.
At the headquarters of Maixiang Brigade, five people, Wang Zhong, Niu Dangdang, Ma Renlian, Ma Renli, and Zhao Youtian, sat around the long table.
"It's definitely too late to plant wheat this year. We don't have spring wheat seeds here. My suggestion is that we plant all corn, soybeans and peanuts, and don't leave out sweet potatoes and potatoes. The yields of these two are not low, and the sweet potato vines can still survive." It is used to raise pigs, and some millet will be replanted as appropriate, and some fruits and vegetables will be grown on the mountainous areas."
"In terms of planting, these are the things that I can think of for the time being, and we can't leave behind the aspects of breeding. If you have any good ideas, feel free to tell us."
"Let's raise pigs. Let's grow more sweet potatoes. Pigs like to eat sweet potato vines. Let's raise a few more pigs. By the end of the year, every household can have pork to eat." Ma Renli suggested.
Niu DaDang also nodded: "Raising pigs is good!"
"Let's raise more chickens. Chickens are highly nutritious and can replenish the bodies of babies and mothers," Ma Renlian said.
Niu DaDang suddenly remembered what Wang Zhong had said: "Didn't we say that the water cellar could be turned into a fish pond? Now that the drought has passed, can we raise some fish?"
"These are all good ideas, but we don't have that much food on hand right now, so we can't feed so many things at once. My suggestion is that we first pick something easy to feed and feed it, and when we get richer, we can slowly expand. Scale and increase variety." Niu boldly said: "Then let's raise pigs. We can use pig grass and bran to raise pigs without using grain. There are many children in the village now. When we are busy in farming, the children can also cut pig grass. , in exchange for work points.”
"This is a good suggestion." Wang Jian nodded: "What do you think?" Everyone also nodded in agreement.
Unlike meetings in the commune and county, where you have to talk a lot of nonsense first, the meetings of the Maixiang Brigade are always known for being concise and concise, and they get straight to the point and get down to business.
The next day, Ma Renlian reported the brigade's decision at the meeting through the radio. On the third day, the female comrades, led by Ma Renlian, began to raise seedlings, while Niu Dadan led the men in the village to start plowing the land.
Everything is proceeding slowly and in an orderly manner. The policies from above are gradually becoming more relaxed than before. As time goes by, the corn seedlings in the fields are getting higher and higher. The growth of soybeans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and potatoes is also quite gratifying, and the vegetables in the fields are also growing very well. , It’s a pity that at this point in time, people use the little money they have in their hands to buy food rations. The sales of vegetables are not good, which means that only some families with good conditions are willing to spend money to buy vegetables.
Ordinary people have either porridge or steamed buns. The nearby brigade wishes they could plant all the land with food. Because of this, Wang Zhong led the folks from the Maixiang brigade to plant more than a hundred acres of vegetables, such as cucumbers, bitter melons, Pumpkins, tomatoes, green and red peppers, crock beans, green beans, etc. are all available.
The purchasers from the Maixiang Brigade and the county supply and marketing cooperative were all old acquaintances. Wang Zhong sent two packages to the big front door and got in touch with the vegetable bureau. He also used the big front door to open a way and paid a few kilograms of high-quality pork belly. The price was determined to provide vegetables to the Vegetable Bureau.
Policies are gradually becoming more relaxed, and more and more things can be done. From spring to summer, and then from summer to autumn, the grain harvest was slightly less than three years ago, but it was still a bumper harvest. Fortunately, the difference was not too big, and smiles gradually appeared on the faces of the villagers.
On this day, Niu Daring took Ma Renli to find Wang Zhong.
"Now that the policies from above have been relaxed, I heard that many places started to do so last year. Shouldn't we also keep up with the times and develop this free market?" Niu Dadan was a little excited, with silence in his eyes. The light shined for a long time, and the light seemed to be full of hope.
Wang Zhong said: "I have also heard about this matter. Although the authorities are more energetic, our county has not yet issued the documents." As he spoke, Wang Zhong lowered his voice: "I heard that it is stuck at Zhang Defu's place. Secretary Zhou is at the meeting." I mentioned it several times, but Zhang Defu always disagreed with Secretary Zhou."
"Hmph!" Niu Dadan's eyes suddenly widened and he snorted: "That Zhang Defu is just a second-rate guy. Before liberation, his father was a great dancer and his mother was a pimp. He is not a good guy either. During the land reform, I was almost turned into a second-rate person. I climbed up by relying on my eloquence. I have no ability and I just know how to mess around all day long." Looking at the angry Niu DaDang, although he agreed with Niu DaDang's words, Wang Zhong still advised: " Be brave, you can just say this in front of me and Renli, but if you go outside, don't say it without a clue, you still have my mother, son and daughter-in-law at home."
"Hey!" Niu boldly sighed and asked, "Let's not go too far and talk about the free market?" Then he looked at Ma Renli beside him: "Do you think this free market is over?"
"If you ask me, we should wait a little longer!" Ma Renli said: "As the saying goes, county officials are not as good as county administrators. Although the higher-ups are more energetic, our county has not yet issued a red-headed document. After all, we are still under the jurisdiction of the county. The county hasn’t made a decision yet, so if we make a decision first and then tell the truth, there’s no guarantee that we won’t be regarded as the first person.”
"Renli's consideration makes sense!" Wang Zhong also nodded in agreement. Ma Renli's consideration can be regarded as a mature way to seek the country.
Ma Renli took the opportunity to persuade: "Be brave, I know that you are eager to improve everyone's life now, but things do not happen overnight. The road is slowly walked step by step. Even a person as powerful as Secretary Zhou, It’s also difficult in the county, let alone our small Maixiang brigade.”
"I think it's best to wait for your proposal."
"We can't wait any longer. After passing this village, there is no such store. Our brigade is already far away from the county seat. If we don't do it now, when the county really implements the policy, there will be nothing to do with our brigade. "Niu DaDang was a little anxious.
"But if we do it now, there will be too much uncertainty and it will be too dangerous!" Ma Renli said.
"I don't know what is certain. I just know that if we don't do it and wait for others to do it first, our brigade will have nothing to do."
"There is some truth in what I said boldly." Wang Zhong nodded. The geographical location of Maixiang Village is indeed a bit awkward. It is not particularly close to the county seat or the commune.
"Anyway, I think it's too dangerous." Ma Renli shook his head. Wang Zhong said: "Since it is the spirit from above, the county is just hesitant and undecided. It is worried that this is just a gust of wind and it will pass after it blows."
"What do you mean?" Niu Dadan looked at Wang Zhong.
"Tell me first, what are your plans!" Wang Zhong did not directly answer Niu DaDang's question, but instead asked Niu DaDang.
Niu boldly said: "Let's set up the free market first, make it famous, and attract villagers from all over the country. Then we will hold a temple fair, make it lively, and attract people from the city. Everyone is paid, but they are richer than us farmers." Wang Zhong shook his head and laughed: "If we really do what you say, our free market will be ruined even if it is running."
"How could it be corrupt? This is the spirit of the higher-ups. Didn't the newspapers say that many places have launched free markets?" Niu Dadan looked unbelieving.
Wang Zhongdao: "Currently, Secretary Zhou is the only one in the county who supports the establishment of a free market. Except for those who are neutral, Zhang Defu and others are opposed to it. There is no official document from the county saying that a free market can be established. Let's Just do it first. Wouldn’t that be a slap in their face? You and I both know what kind of virtue Zhang Defu is. If our free market is really implemented, if we slap him in the face, are you sure he won’t try his best to help us? Looking for trouble?"
"Just running a free market is already under pressure. If you still want to hold a temple fair, aren't you giving Zhang Defu and others the handle?"
"This..." This question immediately stunned Niu Dadan.
"Although Secretary Zhou is the top leader in the county, Secretary Zhou's life has not been easy. If we really have any information that falls into the hands of Zhang Defu and his group, not only will our free market not be able to operate, but also if they take advantage of it This matter is used as an excuse to deal with Secretary Zhou, tell me, how should Secretary Zhou deal with it?"
"At this time, let's not cause trouble to Secretary Zhou and hold him back." Niu Dadan's expression stiffened and he said bitterly: "But if we miss this opportunity, our free market will not be able to operate. .”
"Then I want to ask you, if the free market really takes off, what are you going to sell?"
"I don't have any other skills except growing yellow cigarettes! I just sell yellow cigarettes."
"Yellow smoke is a material subject to unified purchasing and marketing." Ma Renli said. Wang Zhongdao: "It is illegal to sell purchasing and marketing supplies privately. It doesn't matter if something happens to us, but if we implicate Secretary Zhou..."
"..." Looking at the troubled Niu DaDang, Wang Zhong asked again: "Dang DaDang, let me ask you, are you short of food now?" Niu DaDang shook his head: "The corn and sweet potatoes just harvested this year, It’s barely enough to eat.”
"Autumn sowing is about to begin. By then, one kind of winter wheat will be harvested. By the end of the year, the pigs in our team will be almost ready for slaughter. There is grain, pork, and we can also extract oil ourselves. Tell me, why are we here? Is there a free market at this juncture?"
"Besides, our team's geographical location is not advantageous to begin with. Even if we take the lead in setting up a free market, if other teams can imitate this, please tell me."
"Bold, we can understand your mood, but sometimes things don't go according to our ideas."
"If you insist, then we will call Renlian and Arita over and vote together." Niu Dadan opened his mouth, and all his words turned into a sigh.
