Chapter 31 : The person who evaluates model workers is here!

Su Ranran didn’t know that Li Xueqiu was secretly planning to trick her. At this moment, she was still in the field, picking up rice ears with a bag.  

Little Xiao Doudou beside her looked listless, not as energetic as she had been in the morning.  

“Auntie~ snails~”  

After picking up a rice ear, the little one mumbled.  

“Doudou, be good. Once we’re done working, Auntie will take you to pick snails.”  

Su Ranran patiently comforted her.  

Having received so much praise in the morning, it would be bad if she rested and didn’t work in the afternoon, so Su Ranran decided to continue picking up rice ears in the field.  

Hearing this, Xiao Doudou looked a bit disappointed but still picked up the rice ears seriously. Her adorable expression made people reluctant to let her suffer any grievances.  

Suddenly, Su Ranran’s eyes lit up, and she quickly caught a grasshopper.  

“Xiao Doudou, look at this!”  

As soon as the little one saw the grasshopper in her hand, she instantly perked up.  

“Ah! A grasshopper!”  

She reached out her tiny hands and grabbed the grasshopper. The moment she got it, she turned around and walked towards Shen Zhengjiang, who wasn’t far away.  

“Guoguo~ Delicious!”  

She held the grasshopper high in front of Shen Zhengjiang as if she were offering a treasure.  

“Brother has some too. I’ll roast them for you later.”  

Saying that, Shen Zhengjiang mysteriously opened his pocket, successfully making Xiao Doudou exclaim in surprise.  

“Sister, Big Brother has some too.” Shen Zhengming, unwilling to be outdone, also took out a handful of grasshoppers from his pocket.  

Sure enough, he successfully grabbed Xiao Doudou’s attention.  

Seeing the little brothers competing for attention, Su Ranran couldn’t help but smile. After a brief pause, she continued picking up rice ears.  

Thanks to Gao Fangxia’s earlier boasting, everyone knew that Su Ranran was sick yet still working hard despite her condition. Therefore, when they saw her carrying a bag and picking up rice ears, instead of finding it strange, they admired her diligence.  

However, unlike Huang Meihua, who had free time, everyone else was working hard, striving to earn the title of “model worker” and bring honor to their families.  

Across the entire field, people were working diligently, with hardly anyone slacking off.  

Just when everyone was busy harvesting, an excited shout suddenly came from the edge of the field.  

“The evaluators for the model worker award are here!”  

Upon hearing this, Su Ranran was completely stunned. She had made that up to fool people, how could there actually be model worker evaluators?  

Thinking of this, she saw a group of people in shirts walking toward the field. And who else could the tall figure leading them be but Shen He?  

From a distance, Shen He also spotted his wife. He hadn’t expected her to actually go into the field. Although she was just picking up rice ears, he couldn’t help but frown.  

This made Wang Fulai, who had just arrived, nervous!  

“Shen He, who are these people?”  

Could there really be a model worker evaluation? Why hadn’t anyone informed him?  

Wang Fulai was already worried about Li Xueqiu’s situation, and now seeing these well-dressed people made him even more anxious.  

“They are meteorological experts from the province, here to inspect Xinnan County,” Shen He replied without elaborating.  

Upon hearing it had nothing to do with the model worker award, Wang Fulai let out a sigh of relief but couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. Their brigade had rushed the harvest ahead of schedule. If the model worker award was fake, wouldn’t all their effort have been for nothing?  

But as a veteran team leader, no matter what he thought, he still put on a welcoming smile.  

“Oh, so they’re provincial meteorological experts! Please, this way.”  

No matter what their purpose was, as long as they had the word “province” in their title, they were above him.  

There were five meteorological experts in total. Aside from one from the county meteorological station, the other three men and one woman were from the province.  

Surprisingly, their leader was a young man in his early thirties who didn’t seem much older than Shen He. He was clearly accustomed to being flattered and seemed very pleased with Wang Fulai’s warm reception.  

“We’re here on someone’s behalf,” he said while glancing at Shen He with a subtle expression.

The meaning behind his words couldn’t have been clearer.  

Wang Fulai was confused when he heard this. Why had Shen He invited them here?  

But Shen He was just a deputy regiment commander, and not someone he could afford to offend.  

“Yes, yes, thank you for your hard work. Come over here and have some water first.”  

No matter what their purpose was, he had to greet them properly. With this thought in mind, Wang Fulai became even more enthusiastic in welcoming the guests.  

Chen Shuangxin nodded in satisfaction and led the group forward.  

However, an elderly man in tattered clothes suddenly stopped. He furrowed his brows and gazed up at the cloudless sky with a serious expression.  

“Professor Xu, is something wrong?”  

Shen He didn’t follow the group to the shade of the tree but stayed by Xu Chenghua’s side.  

Hearing his question, Xu Chenghua’s brows furrowed even deeper.  

“This weather feels a bit unusual.”  

Just as he finished speaking, Chen Shuangxin’s impatient voice came from under the nearby tree.  

“Old Xu, are you still healthy enough for this? If not, you should go home and take care of your grandchildren.”  

While the rest of the team drank water, Chen Shuangxin looked at him with a mocking expression, clearly unimpressed.  

Hearing this, Xu Chenghua closed his mouth, shook his head, and sighed before walking under the tree.  

“Hey, Old Xu, what do you see?”  

As soon as he approached, Chen Shuangxin smirked and said mockingly, “You don’t seriously think it’s going to rain heavily in this weather, do you?”  

Hearing this, Wang Fulai forgot all about being a good host and stared wide-eyed at Xu Chenghua.  

“Comrade, are you saying there will be heavy rain here?”  

This was no laughing matter. They hadn’t finished harvesting all the rice yet!  

If a heavy rain came, all their hard work would be ruined.  

Before Xu Chenghua could answer, Chen Shuangxin sneered.  

“Old Xu is almost at retirement age. What can his old eyes still see? Just look at the sky, there’s not a single white cloud. Rain? In my opinion, the entire Xinnan County will be facing a drought soon.”  

A man and a woman standing nearby nodded in agreement, insisting that there was no chance of rain.  

Hearing that there wouldn’t be heavy rain, Wang Fulai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. However, when he heard there might be a drought instead, his expression tightened once more.  

“The weather is so dry, what should we do?”  

Since Chen Shuangxin spoke with such authority and seemed to have a leadership presence, Wang Fulai chose to ask him for advice rather than consulting Xu Chenghua.  

Feeling flattered by the attention, Chen Shuangxin was eager to show off.  

“You should organize the members to dig ditches and divert water from canals as soon as possible. Make full use of all available drought-resistant water sources to deal with the upcoming dry period.”  

Hearing this, Wang Fulai quickly nodded in agreement.  

Both floods and droughts were disasters, each capable of causing great damage.  

Meanwhile, Sun Shiheng, who had been silent the entire time, couldn’t help but ask Xu Chenghua for his opinion.  

“Professor Xu, do you notice anything unusual?”  

Sun Shiheng was the only one in the group who worked at the county meteorological bureau. Since childhood, he had been fascinated by astronomy, and after joining the meteorological bureau, he had developed unique insights into weather patterns.  

Seeing Xu Chenghua at that moment felt like meeting a kindred spirit, and he couldn’t contain his excitement.  

Ignoring the boastful Chen Shuangxin, he quietly pulled Xu Chenghua aside and spoke to him in a low voice.