Chapter 214

Apart from Sujiacun, other production teams in the commune were too busy to care about anything else. They harvested the remaining rice overnight. After soaking in water for so many days in such hot weather, the mature rice grains all had some cracks, some more and some less. Even if they hadn’t sprouted yet, they were ready to burst out of their husks. Fortunately, the weather changed the next day with a scorching sun that killed most of the sprouts with its blazing heat, preserving the portion of food relied upon by these laboring people.

However, despite this, there were still a few sprouts. Those severely sprouted could only be used as fodder for livestock. Fortunately, the average loss was only around twenty percent, not considered a serious crop failure.

Sujia Village was the only exception, and Su Weimin has been deeply loved by the members since he became the team leader. He has always been a good cadre who is wholeheartedly devoted to the collective and the people.

Sujia Village successfully saved food this time. When the members of the commune went out, they met people from other communes who were particularly enviable. However, Su Weimin had already said that the losses of any commune were the losses of the people and the country. Don’t be complacent about how great we are. If it hadn’t been for the help of the military, relying solely on their own efforts to salvage the losses would have been inevitable.

Therefore, the people of Sujia Village are very humble and low-key wherever they go, expressing condolences to other communes who have suffered losses, expressing gratitude to Secretary Su’s family for successfully saving food, and thanking the soldiers for their help.

These words were repeated many times and, to some extent, reached the ears of the county magistrate and the secretary. They both had a question: clearly, Head Chen made significant contributions, yet none of the laboring people below him expressed gratitude. Could it be that Su Weimin was taking credit for himself? Such a mindset was unacceptable for grassroots cadres. The leaders took this matter to heart and planned to find time to personally visit the grassroots to understand the situation. They absolutely couldn’t let a good cadre like Head Chen be robbed of his credit by others.

The following days in Sujia Village remained busy. The post-disaster cleanup was even more cumbersome than in previous years for Su Weimin. Some of the seedlings planted earlier were also lost and needed to be replenished. Male comrades were busy repairing houses and roofs, while female comrades were planting vegetables.

On the weekend, Su Zhenzhong and his wife rushed back to Sujia Village immediately after work. They had been anxious ever since they heard about the sudden typhoon while in the county town, and they hadn’t even had time to come back and help with the harvest. Later, they heard through hearsay that Sujia Village had made contributions to this harvest without causing any losses, which relieved their anxiety a bit.

But as soon as the weekend arrived, they hurried back to see for themselves before they could truly relax.

When the couple arrived at the village entrance, they found that everyone was particularly enthusiastic towards them. Even the usually distant aunt warmly chatted with them, praising Secretary Su’s leadership, Head Han’s efforts in seeking help from the military and expressing gratitude for their family’s significant contribution to Sujia Village.

The couple finally calmed down and went home to understand the situation. They both breathed a complete sigh of relief.

Han Cheng and his four sons had been helping out with Su Weimin from dawn until dusk every day. When Su Zhenzhong arrived, he also joined in to help. Su Xiaoxiao and her two sisters-in-law were busy repairing the vegetable garden with Li Yufeng. After several days of hard work, Sujia Village was basically back to normal.

Han Cheng had promised to take a few kids to swim in the reservoir, which had been postponed due to the typhoon. On this day, they finished work early, and Han Cheng and Su Xiaoxiao took the kids to the reservoir. 

The clever Li Yufeng made several simple “swim rings” out of adhesive tape for the kids.

No wonder Li Yufeng was considered a woman full of practical wisdom. She even sewed two “bubble sleeves” for Xiao Tangyuan, saying that wearing them on her hands would keep her from sinking in the water.

Su Xiaoxiao admired her mother to the point of complete devotion.

It is natural for children to enjoy playing in the water, especially for the four older cubs. When they see water, they become like wild horses without reins, eager to take off their clothes and jump in immediately.

Su Xiaoxiao was visiting the reservoir for the first time. It was much larger than she had imagined, about the size of a few football fields. A few days ago, the rain had filled it with water. The setting sun in the west cast a golden glow, making the water’s surface sparkle. The water was clear, and schools of fish could be faintly seen swimming below, creating a particularly serene and comforting scene.

Downstream from the reservoir was a pig farm. Su Zhenhua had installed a water pipe that supplied water from the reservoir to the pig farm. Under Yang Nanhuai’s guidance, a special drainage channel had been made for the sewage produced by the pig farm. There was also a small orchard nearby, although there weren’t many fruit trees yet. After fermenting pig manure, it could be used as fertilizer to nourish the fruit trees. The two young men managed everything inside and out, keeping it exceptionally clean. This created a closed-loop system with none of the dirty, messy, and smelly conditions seen in other rural pig farms, nor did it cause environmental pollution downstream.

In this era, having such environmental awareness is also thanks to the highly educated Yang Nanhuai.

Fantuan: “Come on, let’s have a race. The last one has to wash everyone’s clothes later!”

Xiao Bao: “Let’s do it! Who’s afraid of who?”

Da Bao used to be afraid of water, but in the past two years, after accompanying Xiao Bao to the riverbank more often, he has improved a lot. However, his swimming skills were still lacking. “I swim slowly. I’ll go first for a bit; otherwise, it’s unfair.” With that, he started to cheat.

Zhuzi: “I won’t compete. Xiao Tangyuan is afraid. I’ll teach her how to swim first.”

………….

Su Xiaoxiao snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that all the kids had already stripped down and plunged into the water with Han Cheng.

Han Cheng, as the commander-in-chief, controlled the overall situation. The three little ones are not very good at swimming yet. Han Cheng took Xiao Roubao and Yao Bao with him. Yao Bao was soaked in water with his two brothers last summer and is not afraid of water, but he still cannot swim. Xiao Doubao mainly kept an eye on the youngest, while Zhuzi took care of Xiao Tangyuan. All three little ducklings paddled around in the water wearing the “life rings” made by Li Yufeng. They couldn’t sink, and they looked extremely adorable.

“Mommy, come down quickly.” Xiao Tangyuan was already tired after a few splashes and lay on Zhuzi’s back, not wanting to move much, waving to her mother to come play.

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, “I won’t go down. You guys have fun; just be careful.”

Don’t be fooled by Xiao Roubao’s chubby appearance; he floated on the water quite steadily. Before, Han Cheng always took them to the bathhouse for showers, finding the bathwater dirty. Every time, they just took showers, so this was Xiao Roubao’s first time actually getting into the water. The little guy wasn’t afraid, though. When his father let go of his hand, he immediately threw himself into the water and submerged his head to hold his breath. Unafraid of swallowing water, he even took a few gulps and commented on how sweet it tasted. After a few more splashes, he had already taught himself to swim like a frog and proudly showed it off to his mother.

“Mom, I can swim now. Look, Dad, your beloved baby is amazing, isn’t it?”

Xiao Roubao wore a simple “lifebuoy,”  but no matter how he paddled, he stayed in the same spot. He didn’t realize this and thought he had swum far. As soon as Han Cheng took away his “life ring,” he immediately sank.

Su Xiaoxiao watched the scene anxiously and said, “Han Cheng, watch Xiao Roubao!”

Han Cheng gave his wife a reassuring look and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it.”

Before long, Xiao Roubao, who had sunk below, resurfaced, holding his breath, and paddled up on his own with short legs, then swam forward like a little frog.

Xiao Roubao was so happy that he spat out water. “Haha, I can swim; I really can!”

Han Cheng wiped his hair back, turned his head slightly towards Su Xiaoxiao, and smirked, the meaning clear in his eyes: “See, how smart our son is; he learned it in no time.”

Han Cheng exercised regularly, so he had muscles, but they were lean. His muscular lines were clear and fluid, each one seeming like it had been meticulously sculpted before being placed on him. He naturally had fair skin, but after a few days of sun exposure, the skin exposed to the sun turned wheat-colored. His sculpted face took on a different style, becoming more masculine. Before getting tanned, it was hard to tell that he was the father of four children. After getting tanned, one might say, in a cliché way, that he looked like a walking hormone.

Su Xiaoxiao had always liked Han Cheng’s appearance, but this version of Han Cheng particularly appealed to her aesthetics. She squatted on the shore with a smile on her face, dimples showing, looking at her man like a little fangirl, seemingly unable to get enough of him.

The brothers swam far ahead, and everyone else was busy with their own activities. Xiao Roubao noticed that the only spectator on the shore had been staring at Dad the whole time, showing no reaction to him learning to swim, not even giving him a glance. Naturally, he felt dissatisfied. “Mom, why are you always staring at Dad? Your beloved baby can swim now; look at me!”

Su Xiaoxiao felt awkward. Xiao Roubao had been calling himself “beloved baby” these past few days for some reason.

“Baby, Mom congratulates you for learning how to swim. Well done. But can you stop calling yourself ‘beloved bay’? Mom’s not used to it.”

Xiao Roubao was a reasonable kid and forgave his mom immediately: “Okay, Mom, as long as you think I’m great, it’s fine. Come, Yao Bao, Xiao Tangyuan, let me teach you how to swim!”

After getting attention from his mom, Xiao Roubao went to his younger siblings.

“Yao Bao is still young, Xiao Roubao; don’t mess around.” Xiao Doubao was afraid his unreliable younger brother might cause Yao Bao to choke on water.

“Third brother, your way of teaching the youngest won’t work. You have to be like Dad. He threw me into the water and did not care about me at all. That’s how you learn,” Xiao Roubao advised.

Han Cheng: “Who taught him to kick and paddle?”

It had been a long time since Han Cheng had swum. After the three big boys finished a lap and made sure to watch over their younger siblings, he began to swim freely ahead.

Han Cheng’s agile body moved forward like a flying fish, free and unrestrained. As for the kids, fear of water was another matter. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be a child who didn’t like playing in the water.

Su Xiaoxiao watched the man swimming freely, listening to the kids’ laughter, and felt that their future house must have a swimming pool.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The night after being seemingly inspired by Su Xiaoxiao’s admiring gaze during the day, Han Cheng was exceptionally enthusiastic. He practically served Su Xiaoxiao like a queen, and in the end, she fell asleep in his arms due to exhaustion.

The next day, when Su Xiaoxiao woke up, her face turned red, and she felt very embarrassed. Han Cheng comforted her for a long time, but she still hid in bed and refused to look at him, acting very coquettish.

Han Cheng’s vacation wasn’t that long. In the afternoon, he had to rush back to the capital university to continue working on the project with his advisor.

It was still Su Zhenhua who drove a tractor to take him to the station. Before leaving, Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes turned red. Since the day they met, the couple has rarely been apart. Su Xiaoxiao wished she could follow him back to the capital immediately, but Da Bao and Xiao Bao had already bought plane tickets, and they had to wait until the harvest festival was over before they could leave.

Both his wife and children were the apple of Han Cheng’s eye, so naturally, he was reluctant to leave. He couldn’t bear to see Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes red with tears. “I’ll call back and ask the teacher for another week of vacation.”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, “Forget it; it’s not easy to change the plane tickets. We’ll go back in a few days. When you get to the capital, make sure to let me know you’ve arrived safely, take care of yourself, and remember to eat on time.”

In front of everyone’s eyes, Han Cheng hugged his wife and then hugged each child before reluctantly leaving.

The weather was good for the next few days, with the sun shining brightly. Although it was still hot, occasional breezes blew through, relieving the previous stifling heat before the typhoon.

After the fields were plowed, Sujia Village swiftly moved on to the next task of transplanting seedlings, known locally as Double Harvest. They had to scoop up and replant the seedlings into the rice fields, meticulously spacing each small handful of rice every ten centimeters across the vast paddy field. It was a monumental project. Although it skipped the process of harvesting and drying rice, it was still a tough job, with everyone bending over all day, facing the soil.

The cubs are also too tired to move after working all day.

Even Fantuan said they should invent a harvesting machine and a transplanting machine in the future, so farmers wouldn’t have to bend over to plant anymore.

Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself that China was originally an agricultural country. In later generations, it fed 22% of the world’s population with only 7% of the world’s arable land, which was a great miracle. Of course, Grandpa Yuan, the father of hybrid rice, deserved credit. If Fantuan wanted to be an agricultural machinery designer, that would be great too. He was creative and had many ideas. Designing such a thing could really benefit humanity and increase labor efficiency to feed more people.

The transplanting work was completed in just five days, a significant improvement attributed to the enthusiasm and efficiency of the harvesters. Previously, this task would typically take eight to ten days in past years, but this year they accomplished it in record time. This efficiency highlighted the ample labor force available, suggesting that dividing the land into households would further boost enthusiasm.

Following the completion of transplanting, Su Weimin refined Su Xiaoxiao’s “plan” and decided to personally bring up the matter with county leaders. 

After some consideration, Su Xiaoxiao, feeling somewhat informed about the issue, decided to accompany her father.