Chapter 38: The Leader’s Inspection (Part 2)

Xu Yongshou started recounting the story enthusiastically, and even the reporter was left with his mouth slightly open in surprise.

Song Caijun thought for a moment and asked, “Why does this sound familiar? Her family name is Mu, right? Wasn’t there an article published about them not long ago?”

He had only caught a bit of it back then, something about two exceptionally bright girls from Qingfeng Brigade, both only seven or eight years old.

He hadn’t paid much attention since education wasn’t his department.

Secretary Wang’s curiosity grew. “There was an article?”

Xu Yongshou nodded. “Yes, the publishing house even sent her a reply letter. The other girl from the Shi family received one too.”

“What kind of articles did they write?”

Xu Yongshou knew the answer right away. He had read them multiple times.

Mu Mian wrote about life in the countryside, vividly capturing the essence of rural labor.

Summarizing what he remembered, he gave Secretary Wang a brief description.

Secretary Wang sighed in admiration. “She’s really an impressive girl. Does her family have any other children?”

Xu Yongshou shook his head. “There are two. Mu Mian has an older brother who joined the army in the south. A few months ago, we heard he’s already been promoted to squad leader.”

Secretary Wang raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Every member of their family is capable.”

As he spoke, he headed toward the threshing ground.

Following behind, Song Caijun wore a thoughtful expression.

Meanwhile, at the threshing ground, Mu Mian kept working, the sound of rice striking loud and crisp. She didn’t stop, but her eyes weren’t idle either—every now and then, she’d steal a glance to the side.

She had already noticed that the brigade leader had brought a few strangers along, and recalling his earlier exclamation, it wasn’t hard to guess.

At this point in time, the only visitors would be officials. The question was whether they were from the county or the city.

Seeing them approach, Mu Mian withdrew her gaze and calmly continued her rhythm—one strike, then three shakes.

While she remained unfazed, her uncles were not as composed.

Mu Xingwang’s movements became noticeably unsteady, lacking his usual steadiness. “Why are the officials coming over here?”

Mu Xinglong, who had never seen officials before, whispered nervously, “What do they want? Are they going to question us? The brigade leader didn’t give us any instructions. What if I say something wrong?”

As the eldest brother, Mu Fugui held his ground. “What’s there to be afraid of? Officials are just people too—two eyes and one mouth. It’s not like they’re going to eat you. Look at my daughter. She’s steadier than you lot.”

To be honest, his daughter really was… what was the word for it?

Oh right, that’s the demeanor of a true leader!

Surely, she will accomplish great things in the future!

Mu Mian smiled and said, “He’s probably here to check on the grain. After all, food is the most important thing.”

Hearing her say this, the two men miraculously calmed down.

That made sense. In the eyes of the leaders, nothing was more important than food.

As they talked, Secretary Wang and his group had already approached.

Mu Mian had just finished threshing the batch in her hands. She was about to step down from the stool when the leader in front waved his hand and said, “Go on with your work, I’m just taking a look around.”

Hearing this, Mu Mian stayed put.

Standing on the stool, she still wasn’t as tall as the adults, so it wouldn’t seem like she was looking down on them, which could be considered impolite.

Secretary Wang bent down, scooped up a handful of rice grains from the winnowing basket, examined them briefly, and asked Song Caijun, “How’s the rice from the other teams?”

Song Caijun replied, “Some are about the same as this, while others are slightly lower in quality.”

Secretary Wang nodded, tossed the handful of rice grains back into the basket, and then looked kindly at the little girl beside him. “I heard you’ve been working on this for several days. Are you tired? Can you still manage?”

Mu Mian lifted her small, round face, flushed red from the heat. Her gaze first swept past Brigade Leader Xu Yongshou’s face. He remained serious and expressionless, giving away nothing at all.

Mu Mian decided to take the initiative, flashing a bright smile. “It is quite tiring, but I can still manage!”

Secretary Wang looked at her lively, sparkling eyes and smiled. “If it’s tiring, why not switch to an easier task? I see other children picking up stray grains.”

Mu Mian blinked her long eyelashes. “Everyone is tired. I can still hold on a little longer. Even if I can’t, I should still push through. The grain hasn’t been fully harvested yet!”

The little girl stood with her chest puffed out, looking like a resilient young bamboo. Secretary Wang’s smile grew even wider. “Not bad. You’ve got perseverance.”

The reporter next to them took another ‘click’ of a photo. Mu Mian nonchalantly brushed away a few stray hairs from her face.

Secretary Wang didn’t stay long, saying he still had other places to visit.

Once the brigade leader and the others left, the conversations in the threshing ground noticeably became livelier.

People started chattering away, suddenly forgetting their exhaustion.

Mu Xinglong, who couldn’t keep his mouth shut, grinned, “Xiao Mian, you’re something else! You even dared to chat with the leader!”

Mu Mian laughed. “Uncle, what do you mean? Leaders are people too. Why wouldn’t I talk to him?”

Mu Fugui immediately chimed in with praise, “Our girl is amazing! She handled everything so calmly, just like her father.”

Mu Xinglong scoffed, “Then why didn’t you say anything just now, big brother?”

Mu Fugui justified himself, “Well, the leader didn’t ask me anything. If he didn’t ask, it would’ve been impolite for me to interrupt. That would make our Qingfeng Brigade seem uneducated.”

Mu Xingwang, caught between his older and younger brothers, raised another question instead. “Was that young man just now holding a camera?”

Mu Mian nodded. “Yes, he’s probably a reporter.”

Cameras were a rare sight these days. If a reporter came along, then the visitors were likely from the city government.

From what she remembered, when the county officials visited last year, they hadn’t brought a reporter.

Mu Xinglong asked, “So those ‘click click’ sounds just now were him taking pictures? Were we in them too?”

Realizing this, he belatedly started wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Mu Mian chuckled. “Uncle, isn’t it a bit late to be wiping your face now? Besides, whether we were in the photo or not, we wouldn’t even get to see it anyway.”

Mu Xinglong let go of his lifted shirt. “That’s true.”

Instead of worrying about whether they were in the photo, it was better to just focus on threshing more rice.

—

Having city officials visit their brigade for an inspection was a big deal for the people of the brigade.

Since Mu Mian was the only one apart from the brigade leader who had spoken to the city officials, she was bombarded with questions on her way home from work.

Everyone’s bodies were exhausted, but their mouths certainly weren’t. The whole way back, her ears were filled with chatter.

“What did the leader say? Did he praise our rice?”

“He just took one look and left? Didn’t even stay for a meal?”

“Did that young man take pictures of you?”

“What do the photos look like? I’ve never seen one before.”

“Why take pictures? Xiao Mian, are you going to be in the newspaper?”

……

……

Mu Mian waved her hands like a drum rattle. “How could that be, Auntie? The reporter is probably just collecting material as a reference for when he writes his article.”

The auntie was puzzled. “Vegetables? What vegetables? The leaders didn’t even eat anything before they left, so what’s there to collect?”

Mu Mian: “………………”

By the time all the questioning was over, she had gotten home fifteen minutes later than usual, and she was starving. She felt like she could eat a whole calf.

However, people soon stopped talking about it.

The leaders had only come to inspect. Now that they were done, there was nothing more to discuss.

Mu Mian didn’t dwell on the day’s events either. That night, she only overheard the brigade leader casually mentioning to her father that the officials were very pleased with their team’s performance.

But regardless of the leaders’ satisfaction, the most important thing at hand was still the autumn harvest.

The days of waking up to work and falling asleep exhausted passed quickly.

Before she knew it, another ten days had flown by, and the autumn harvest was finally nearing its end.

Mu Mian was completely drained. Though she hadn’t worked herself to the point of shedding a layer of skin, she had definitely tanned two or three shades darker.

She talked much less now, saving what little energy she had just to eat.

Thankfully, the hardest part was finally over. The grain had been safely stored away, leaving only some finishing work to be done.

—

That evening, the Mu family was having dinner.

Mu Mian casually tapped the eggshell on the table. The old lady had mastered the cooking time perfectly, making the shell easy to peel—it came off effortlessly with a single pull.

She quickly swallowed the egg in just two bites and sighed, “Still, the mother of the egg tastes even better.”

A few days ago, one of their hens had been slaughtered. Maybe she was just too exhausted, but it had tasted unbelievably delicious.

Even after several days, that rich flavor still seemed to linger in her mouth.

Zhao Meihua chuckled and said, “Let’s wait and see if any chicks hatch. If they do, we can raise another one.”

Mu Mian replied, “But it’ll take so long for it to grow up. Once things settle down in a few days, I’ll take Lele up the mountain for a walk.”

“No one’s been up there lately, so those wild chickens and rabbits must be missing us!”

The three adults laughed out loud at her words.

Mu Fugui agreed, “You know, after the autumn harvest every year, there really do seem to be more wild chickens and rabbits around.”

But more people go up the mountain too.

Mu Mian said, “Since no one’s been up there for two weeks, they must have let their guard down.”

Mu Fugui added, “When we go, we should bring a few sacks. We can find rabbit burrows and smoke them out. Just place the sack at the entrance—once they dash out, they’ll run straight in.”

Mu Mian nodded eagerly, looking forward to going up the mountain with her father.

As the family continued chatting, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the courtyard. It sounded like a group of people chattering noisily.

The four of them, still eating, instinctively turned their heads toward the door. The next second, they saw Xu Yongshou stride in, followed by several villagers.

With a broad grin, Xu Yongshou said, “Still eating? I’ve got good news!”

Mu Fugui put down his bowl and stood up. “What good news? Weren’t you at the commune to ask about the grain contribution?”

Xu Yongshou plopped down on the stool Mu Fugui had just vacated and said, “I asked. Our brigade has to turn it in on Friday. And guess what else Director Song told me?”

Without waiting for a response, he continued, “He said the commune has selected your family as one of the Five Good Families this year!”

Mu Fugui’s eyes widened. “Really? They chose our family? Why us?”

Xu Yongshou nodded. “Director Song told me himself! Why would I lie to you? They’ll probably send over a certificate too.”

Both Zhao Meihua and Liu Shuangcui were overjoyed. They abandoned their meal and bombarded Xu Yongshou with questions.

Mu Mian was also curious and moved closer. How had their family been selected so suddenly?

There hadn’t been any sign of it before.

Before they could figure it out, amidst the excited chatter, one of the women who had followed the brigade leader into the house suddenly asked, “Hey, Old Xu, tell us about that newspaper!”

“Didn’t you say something was published? Show us! What does it say?”

Hearing this, all four members of the Mu family fell silent for a moment. They had been wondering why so many people had come in with the brigade leader.

So this was the reason.

Liu Shuangcui asked, “What newspaper? Who was in the newspaper?”

Mu Fugui suddenly thought of something and said loudly, “Could it be my daughter? That day when the officials came, the reporter kept taking pictures!”

Mu Mian also stood up and moved closer.

The woman from earlier chimed in again, “Who knows? This old Xu was keeping it a secret, saying he wanted to show your family first.”

All eyes turned to Xu Yongshou as he pulled a newspaper from his pocket and said, “They were the only ones with their faces fully visible in the photos. Who else should see it first?”

With that, he placed the newspaper on the table. “Come take a look. Two photos—both from our brigade.”

Mu Mian leaned in and immediately spotted herself in the first picture. Beside her stood her father, her fourth uncle, and her little uncle, all diligently threshing the rice.

The reporter must have taken the shot at just the right moment, capturing all their faces clearly.

Next to the photo, the large characters read “Autumn Harvest Chronicles.” The article was quite long, with a total of four pictures.

Aside from theirs, Mu Mian quickly recognized another image featuring their brigade. It showed a group of young children, neatly lined up, bending over to pick up scattered grains of rice.

Most of them had their backs to the camera, revealing only their behinds.

One of the women suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my! That’s my Goudan’s backside!”

Another woman next to her disagreed. “How can you tell from just half a backside? I’d say that’s my Shitou!”

“It’s definitely my Goudan! I gave birth to him. How could I not recognize him? Even if it was just a strand of his hair, I’d know!”

“You must be mistaken. That big backside is clearly my Shitou’s!”

Before long, the two women were arguing heatedly over whose child had made it into the newspaper, all because of a half-visible backside.