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Wang Zhenhe helped gather pig feed and nodded with a smile. “Indeed, Zuo He and the others are the real heroes. You guys will get to enjoy the meat from this year’s pig slaughter.”
On the first day back from school, Mingcheng and Wang Xuan showed extra concern for their younger sister, asking her all sorts of questions. When they found out that her homeroom teacher was Xu Mingda, they smiled and said, “Little sister, this teacher is really good. You can feel at ease studying under him.”
As the weather cooled, the autumn harvest began. Zuo He and the others truly experienced the joy that their younger brother had spoken of. The kids were busy during the autumn harvest, their hands and mouths constantly occupied. The mountains were filled with delicious treats. With the ideas from Zuo Yu and the others, even Wang Qian and her sister benefited from their ingenuity. Eating stolen goods was a unique experience, and everyone felt more excited, not just about the delicious food but also the thrill of obtaining it.
Inspired by the Zuo brothers, Mingcheng and Mingyuan no longer cared whether the produce belonged to the collective farm. If they wanted to eat something, the five brothers would secretly bring back a bit extra to enjoy at home. Grandpa didn’t say much about their actions; after all, it was just kids being greedy, wanting a little extra. This leniency was common among the adults, and the children’s harvests were only for snacking.
After the autumn harvest, Zuo Hao and Zuo Yu also realized the hardships of farming. “Brother, you’re not allowed to waste food in the future. Look at how hard we’ve worked these past few days. Imagine how difficult it is for the uncles to work like this all year round,” Zuo He said, educating his Big and younger brother.
At this point, Wang Qian even thought that if the modern children who refused to eat and were quite wasteful were placed in their environment, they would probably be fighting to eat. Only through experience would they learn to cherish things. The Zuo brothers were a great example of this understanding.
After the autumn harvest, the commune once again rallied to promote the “Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture” movement. Dazhai was a brigade in the Dazhai Commune of Xiyang County, SX Province, and was originally a poor mountain village. After agricultural collectivization, the members of the commune cleared mountains and hills, built terraces, and increased the grain yield per acre by sevenfold. The spirit of Dazhai became a banner for the entire national agricultural front. The whole country surged with the “Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture” movement, and the spirit and experience of Dazhai were widely promoted. The entire Hongqi Commune was mobilized, and the brigade began to work on mountain and water conservation, transforming barren slopes into fertile fields.
At this time, the mountains and fields were adorned with red flags and colorful banners, each representing a specific work team—youth shock brigades, party member-led teams, and women’s excellent workers, among others. Despite the chilly autumn breeze, the fervent labor scene infected everyone present, making it feel like a scorching summer rather than autumn. Members threw themselves passionately into the transformation and construction of the fertile fields.
On a Sunday, Wang Qian and her siblings went to the mountains to take a look. The labor scene was something she would likely remember for the rest of her life. Scenes of such enthusiastic and passionate labor were no longer seen in her future.
The excitement of the commune members was a sight unseen in the future. Some used carts to transport soil, while others carried it on their shoulders. Some had blisters on their shoulders but continued working with padded shoulder straps. There was shoveling, digging, and loud shouts, all demonstrating the fervent spirit of the laborers. Dozens of thermos flasks were set up in the field, brought from home by the commune members for water breaks. At that moment, no one was competing over who worked more or less, as everyone was earnestly laboring without any deception.
The shrubs that were cleared away were gathered by Mingcheng and the others to take home for firewood. Wang Qian walked around with her hands behind her back, observing the terraced fields. She couldn’t quite understand why the shrubs, which helped retain water, had been cleared away. Their absence could easily lead to soil erosion.
Wang Zhenhe, seeing his daughter wandering around, was worried she might accidentally get in the way of others and hurried over. “Qianqian, how did you come here? Be careful; there are too many people around here.” He picked her up and carried her to a safer place, instructing her a few times before feeling at ease to return to work.
Mingyuan and the others collected quite a bit of firewood. Each of the siblings carried some back home, and from a distance, they could still hear the sound of singing coming from the mountains.
When they returned home, they found Zhang Lan washing their clothes. Wang Qian and Wang Xuan gathered the shoes that needed cleaning. Each of the sisters took a brush and began cleaning the shoes. Zhang Lan had bought them all white shoes, which were prone to getting dirty. When the clothes were done washing, the sisters applied a layer of white powder to the shoes. The local supply and marketing cooperative sold this type of shoe powder at five cents a bag, suitable for wet brushing or dry application. In order to save, the sisters chose wet brushing, ensuring an even distribution of the powder.
At noon, when Wang Zhenhe returned home, he was covered in dirt. Zhang Lan quickly handed him a wet towel to wipe his face. “Are you tired?” she asked, feeling a little sorry for him as she saw his face reddened from the autumn wind.
Wang Zhenhe grinned foolishly at his wife. “I’m fine. We men can handle it, and there were plenty of workers, so it wasn’t too exhausting.”
Due to concerns about his wife’s ability to handle such high-intensity labor, Wang Zhenhe hadn’t allowed Zhang Lan to participate. Even though he earned a little less, his wife’s health was more important.
People who engaged in intense physical labor had a significantly increased appetite. Wang Zhenhe ate three pieces of bread before setting down his chopsticks. He still had to go to work in the afternoon, so Zhang Lan found a pair of gloves for him to wear, preventing blisters. Although the hands of rural folks were calloused, a little protection didn’t hurt.
In the afternoon, Zhang Lan went to the cooperative to buy some meat for the family. Lately, she hadn’t seen any wild rabbits in the woods, likely due to Wang Qian catching most of them. Not wanting her daughter to go alone to the mountains, she decided to buy just enough for one family meal.
As she arrived at the cooperative, Zhang Lan remembered that her sister-in-law had mentioned that Wang Zhenguo was in charge of the supply. This made her a bit uneasy.
Seeing her mother’s expression change, Wang Qian quietly asked, “Mom, are you worried that Wang Zhenguo might cause trouble for us?”
Zhang Lan nodded, and Wang Qian, having guessed her thoughts, reassured her, “Mom, don’t worry. Wang Zhenguo wouldn’t dare. We don’t lack oil, and we don’t buy fatty meat. We’ll just get some pork belly, or maybe some lean meat. Do you think he’d dare to cause trouble? Even his life was saved by my dad. I doubt he’d dare to do anything to us.”
Wang Qian genuinely wasn’t afraid of someone like Wang Zhenguo. After all, they had recently saved his life. If he dared to turn against them, she wouldn’t hesitate to speak to his colleagues. Her father-in-law was powerful, but he couldn’t protect him forever. Besides, he hadn’t even secured a permanent position yet. Being too arrogant wouldn’t benefit him.
When they reached the window for purchasing supplies, they found Wang Zhenguo leisurely chatting with a woman. Upon seeing Wang Qian and her mother, his expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing else. Wang Qian handed over the supply certificate and meat coupons. “Uncle, we’d like to buy two pounds of pork belly.”
Wang Zhenguo didn’t say anything else. He took the meat knife and weighed out the pork belly, accepted the money, and didn’t say another word.
Wang Qian glanced at the woman beside Wang Zhenguo. She was prettier than Ma Fenqing, and when she noticed Wang Qian looking at her, she quickly lowered her head. Wang Qian didn’t know the nature of their relationship, so she didn’t say anything more. Some people and things needed time to reveal the truth.
The mountain and water conservation movement didn’t conclude until the ground froze. Wang Zhenhe, as an outstanding individual, was rewarded with a beautiful knitted scarf, multicolored and lovely. Originally, the prize was supposed to be a thermos flask, but Wang Zhenhe had exchanged his first prize for a second prize just to get a nice scarf for his wife.
Seeing his wife wearing the beautiful scarf, Wang Zhenhe couldn’t contain his happiness. Wang Qian also admired the scarf. It seemed to be the most fashionable color of the time. When her mother wore it, it made her look even more beautiful, emphasizing her fair complexion.
As Zhang Lan was trying on the new scarf, Liu Hui rushed in. “Sister, the cooperative will be distributing grains this afternoon. Have you prepared the sacks? Oh, that scarf looks great! Your husband has good taste.”
Halfway through her statement, she noticed Zhang Lan’s new scarf and couldn’t help but admire it. The news about Wang Zhenhe exchanging the scarf had spread to many people.
Zhang Lan chuckled, “Look at all the attention my husband’s scarf change has attracted. I feel a bit embarrassed to wear it out.”
Wang Qian quickly interjected, “Mom, don’t worry. It’s a token of my dad’s affection. Whatever others say, as long as it looks good on you, that’s all that matters. Grandma, what do you think?”
The old lady nodded, “It looks great.”
As the boys returned from collecting scrap on a Sunday, one of them said, “Mom, this is the money we made today. It’s a total of one yuan and twenty-five cents.”
Zhang Lan took the money and turned to Hao Lianchun, “Auntie, I’ll take them to the cooperative to buy some food. I’ll cook when I come back.”
During this period, Zuo He, Mingyuan, and the others had earned quite a bit of money from collecting scrap. Even during her busy autumn, Zhang Lan had managed to find time to buy some snacks for them. Today, she decided to treat the boys a bit, as they had earned the money themselves. Although the children should work, it was important to give them some rewards from time to time.