Chapter 56: Director Zhao takes charge of the meeting

Zhao Xinshan went to the commune to deliver the report, while Zhao Ke and Deputy Team Leader Xu organized a meeting in the village to discuss all the current challenges and difficulties the village was facing, preparing to lead everyone in cleaning up the aftermath.  

In previous meetings, besides the Zhao Village team committee members, only a few respected elders from the village were included. Yu Xiulan had been the only woman attending these meetings.  

But this time, Zhao Ke proposed calling all the educated youths to join the meeting as well.  

Her reasoning was solid—one person’s wisdom is limited, but many minds working together can achieve more. After this heavy rain, the village should fully recognize the indispensable role of the educated youths.  

No one had any objections.  

As a result, this meeting included not only Zhao Ke, Deputy Team Leader Xu, Accountant Niu, Warehouse Keeper He Dongsheng, and several respected elders but also Principal Gu and Teacher Wu, as well as their spouses, Tang Zhiqing, and other educated youths from the educated youth spot, including Fu Hang.  

At first, no one thought of Hu Hezhi. It was Zhao Er Nai who brought it up, asking why her grandson-in-law wasn’t invited. Only then did everyone remember him.  

He was truly a peculiar case.  

During the heavy rains, the entire village had mobilized, but he fell sick after just two days.  

Even Zhao Er Nai, an elderly woman, and Zhao Fangfang, who was still nursing, had gone to Zhao Jianguo’s place to help, while he had stayed home recovering until the rain had completely stopped.  

Yet, he had grown so thin that when he appeared in the brigade office, no one could suspect he had been faking illness.  

Still, the brigade had no time to pay attention to him. Once everyone had arrived, they got straight to the main topic.  

The grain problem was an issue affecting the entire village and was the most urgent matter at hand.  

The warehouse was half-filled with moldy grain, and the entire village was asking what arrangements the brigade would make to ensure they had enough food for the winter and early next year.  

Meanwhile, there were still many struggling crops in the fields.  

On one hand, they needed to save seeds for next year. On the other, distributing grain after the autumn harvest would be difficult, and they still had quotas to submit to the commune.  

Deputy Team Leader Xu said, “The neighboring Li Village brigade was also severely affected. Given the situation this year, the commune will likely reduce the grain submission quota, and there might even be relief grain funds. But for now, we have to wait for the brigade leader to return from the commune before we know the specifics, so let’s set that aside for now.”  

For now, they only discussed how to deal with the remaining crops and the moldy grain.  

At first, the educated youths were reserved, merely listening to the village members’ discussion. But no one had any good solutions for the yellowing crops. As for the moldy grain, since it had a low germination rate and couldn’t be saved for seed, the discussion became quite disheartening.  

The commune members couldn’t come up with any good ideas.  

Zhao Ke then called on the educated youths directly, “Do you have any suggestions?”  

Fu Hang toyed with his pen in silence.  

The other educated youths exchanged glances. Liu Xingxue, eager to prove himself, spoke up: “Yellowed crops might recover with fertilization. Why not buy some chemical fertilizer and apply it to the fields?”  

Deputy Team Leader Xu and the others all shook their heads.

Everyone knew fertilizer was effective, but the brigade had no money to buy it.  

Liu Xingxue tried to argue, “Crops are our lifeline. At the very least, we have to make it through to next year…”  

Zhao Si Ye and the others immediately shut him down: “If we had money, we wouldn’t be worrying about making it through next year.”  

Liu Xingxue fell silent.  

At this moment, Fu Hang said coolly, “We can use the moldy grain as fertilizer.”  

Liu Xingxue’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! Back home, we used to soak beans in water, and after watering the fields with it, everything grew exceptionally well.”  

Using grain to make fertilizer—this was unheard of in the surrounding ten villages. When the elderly farmers heard it, they were all distressed.  

“That’s a lot of grain! What a waste!”  

“Exactly! If word gets out, people will talk behind our backs about how wasteful the Zhao Village brigade is.”  

“No way, absolutely not.”  

Fu Hang said nothing, but Liu Xingxue anxiously argued, “Moldy grain can’t be eaten anyway. Leaving it there is just a waste—it might as well be put to use.”

The elders, led by Zhao Si Ye, were still somewhat resistant.  

Not to mention them—even Deputy Team Leader Xu and Accountant Niu couldn’t bring themselves to go through with it.  

Zhao Ke wrote down Liu Xingxue’s suggestion in her notebook. “Throwing it away would be a waste. If it can help the seedlings survive and even grow better, at least it’s making the most of what’s left.”  

She expressed her support, and Liu Xingxue’s face lit up with delight.  

Even though the others still hesitated, they began to seriously consider whether using grain as fertilizer was feasible.  

However, Zhao Ke turned to Fu Hang and Liu Xingxue and asked, “This is grain, after all—our entire village’s hard work over the past year. If we’re going to use it as fertilizer, how can we maximize its effectiveness?”  

“How long does it take to decompose into fertilizer? Will it be in time to save the yellowing seedlings?”  

Liu Xingxue didn’t know, and Fu Hang had only heard of the method but wasn’t familiar with the details.  

Still, Fu Hang said, “We don’t have any other options right now. We can apply some manure from the compost pit first. As for fermenting the moldy grain into fertilizer, we can look up some information and apply it later.”  

That made sense.  

As Zhao Ke took notes in her notebook, she discussed the matter further with Zhao Si Ye and the others.  

The most experienced farmers were still the old villagers.  

Zhao Si Ye remarked, “A field that’s been fertilized this year will still be more fertile than an unfertilized one, even if we skip it next year.”  

That meant the plan was viable.  

With that issue temporarily set aside, Zhao Ke brought up the condition of the village’s houses. Repairs needed to be done as soon as possible. However, the households that needed repairs should form their own teams and get started directly—there was no need for the brigade to intervene.  

Another issue was the village roads, which were full of potholes and ruts, making it difficult to walk.  

Zhao Ke suggested, “My proposal is that each household takes responsibility for leveling the area in front of their own house.”  

Accountant Niu asked, “What about the drainage ditches?”  

They couldn’t just abandon them.  

From what Zhao Ke knew, the best solution would be to lay cement pipes or pour concrete into the drainage ditches, but the brigade had no money for that.  

So Zhao Ke proposed, “Can we find some stone slabs to cover the drainage ditches? The recent heavy rain made it clear that the village needs proper drainage. Otherwise, if there’s another downpour, houses could be severely damaged by flooding.”  

The homes of the Lao Qian family and Second Uncle Zhao’s family were real-life examples.  

Second Uncle Zhao’s house was leaning even more today than it was yesterday. His family didn’t even dare walk near it anymore, and the entire village was speculating about when it would finally collapse.  

Deputy Team Leader Xu questioned, “Where would we get that many stone slabs?”  

Zhao Ke looked at Fu Hang and Liu Xingxue and said, “Earlier, Liu Zhiqing led the educated youths and villagers in draining the floodwaters, which reduced losses for the brigade. Can we find a way to minimize the number of drainage ditches crossing the roads?”  

“Try to direct the drainage along the outer walls of each household’s yard to avoid the difficulty of finding stone slabs.”  

Fu Hang glanced at Liu Xingxue but remained silent.  

Liu Xingxue said, “Director Zhao, the village’s layout isn’t well-planned. The roads aren’t straight, and the shapes of the yard walls vary. We can’t just run drainage ditches through people’s yards.”  

When he led the team to dig them, they hadn’t had time to consider factors like proper planning or scientific design—they just dug wherever water was most likely to accumulate, which resulted in the current state of the drainage system.  

Even if they followed the yard walls, the winding and uneven ditches would still affect drainage efficiency.  

“Unless we plan for regular maintenance and clearing in the future.”  

This was a long-term issue tied to the village’s future planning.

Zhao Ke noted it down in her notebook.  

But for now, “Go ahead with the clearing, just try not to affect the paths too much. The rest can wait.”  

Seeing Liu Zhiqing’s enthusiasm, Zhao Ke temporarily assigned him the task of replanning the drainage ditches.  

Liu Xingxue readily agreed, full of energy.  

Problems shouldn’t be delayed—after that, Zhao Ke and Deputy Team Leader Xu divided the work. Deputy Team Leader Xu led a group to fertilize the fields, while Zhao Ke organized people to source materials locally and prepare as much food as possible for the winter.  

Accountant Niu stayed at the brigade headquarters in case anything needed to be arranged.  

Zhao Ke said, “That’s it for today’s meeting. Everyone, get to work.”  

The others got up one after another. Fu Hang hesitated for a moment before reminding her, “Director Zhao, Li Village next door was hit hard by the disaster, and the surrounding villages probably aren’t doing much better. Once the brigade leader returns from the commune, the other brigades will soon know that our losses were minimal. Shouldn’t we organize a militia team to patrol at night?”  

“This…” Deputy Team Leader Xu and the others exchanged looks. “Is that really necessary?”  

Fu Hang’s gaze was mocking. “Not necessary? Right now, Zhao Village Brigade is like a child carrying treasure but unarmed. Don’t underestimate the darkness in human nature…”  

Zhao Si Ye and the other elderly villagers began murmuring.  

“In the past, brigades sabotaging each other wasn’t unheard of.”  

“What if some heartless wretch gets jealous of our brigade?”  

“Exactly. If nothing else, we need to keep an eye on the piglets. They’re our backup plan—what if they get stolen?”  

“Yeah, and we need to watch out for troublemakers from other villages…”  

The elderly had seen much of the world. The countryside wasn’t all simple and honest—some bad things happened for no reason at all. The more they talked, the more uneasy they became, urging the brigade to organize a militia team.  

For the sake of the piglets, for the sake of the crops… the brigade added another task. With Zhao Xinshan away, and Accountant Niu at the office, he was assigned to draft a patrol schedule.  

Every adult man in the village had to participate.  

Zhao Ke gathered the young men and women in the village—one group went into the forest, another to the riverbanks.  

They swept through like a raid, taking anything edible. Once brought home, it would either be boiled or dried, but the goal was the same: stockpile food for the winter.  

Over at the pigsty, Aunt Zhu reported that some piglets had poor appetites and looked sluggish.  

“Could they have caught a cold? Are they sniffing?”  

A cold… for pigs?  

Zhao Ke went to the clinic and dragged her father over.  

Zhao Jianguo: “…I’m a doctor for people, not pigs.”  

“Learn as you live, Dad. Don’t be so narrow-minded. You’re the only one in the village who knows medicine. If you don’t do it, who will?”  

Zhao Jianguo was speechless. With no other choice, he examined the pigs from snout to rump, even checking their temperature. He hesitated before saying, “If it’s a cold, what medicine do pigs take?”  

Zhao Ke: You’re asking me?  

Zhao Jianguo said, “How about I brew them some herbal medicine that people drink?”  

Aunt Zhu was worried. “Will it harm them?”  

“They’re just common herbs, definitely not lethal, and probably harmless.”  

Zhao Jianguo also told Aunt Zhu and the others to burn more mugwort in the pigsty.  

“We’ve got plenty of that.”  

The pig caretakers treated the pigs even better than their own kids. They immediately went to gather some, and within half an hour, the whole pigsty was filled with the scent of mugwort.  

The brigade cherished its pigs dearly. Upon hearing they were sick, the villagers kept dropping by to check on them, whether they had a reason or not.  

When Zhao Jianguo finished brewing the medicine, he first tested it by pouring some into a trough. Not just the caretakers, but even the villagers stared at the pigs intently, making Zhao Jianguo feel immense pressure.  

Thankfully, the herbal brew didn’t harm the pigs, and they even seemed a little livelier. Only then did he distribute it to all of them.  

That night, the militia team began patrolling the fields, and two villagers were assigned to guard the pigsty.  

The night passed uneventfully.  

The next day, Zhao Xinshan returned from the commune with shocking news for the entire village: Secretary Duan and Director Wu had personally selected Zhao Ke for a Worker-Peasant-Soldier University spot.