Chapter 216 We Chinese have stood up!
"Okay! Let's take a break and continue working after breakfast! We'll try to finish harvesting this area this morning!"

Uncle Yan didn't have a watch, so he wiped his sweat with a towel hanging around his neck, looked at the height of the sun to determine the time, and then used the village's loudspeaker to listen to the radio.
The men sat on the ridges of the fields in groups of three or four. Some drank from cans, while others drank from thermoses and large bowls they brought with them. The most impressive ones, like Wang Deming, used a green military kettle.

Older smokers generally use a pipe. They put the copper pipe into a small cloth bag hanging around their waist, fill it with shredded tobacco, press it down with their thumb, light it with a match, and take a delicious puff.

Young people use bought cigarette paper, or newspapers, or homework books used by their children, which are about 3-4 cm wide and 10 cm long. First, fold the short side in half, put some dry tobacco in it with your fingers, and roll it into a cigarette with one end thick and the other thin. The thick end should be twisted into a thin one. Finally, lick the side of the closing with your tongue to stick it on. Then a dry cigarette is ready. Light it up and take a puff.

The men were resting in groups of three or four, while the women were anxiously returning home to help with the fire and cooking, and then bringing the elderly and children over to deliver meals.

The food is pretty much the same, steamed buns made of 5g flour, home-pickled vegetables: green onions, coriander roots, cucumber strips, shepherd's purse, etc. Wow, each person can eat 6 or steamed buns as big as a bowl.

The old people brought their children, each carrying a wicker basket in their arms, and began to pick wheat ears along the harvested fields.

Feeling that it was enough time to rest, Uncle Yan patted his butt, stood up, put on his straw hat, and shouted to everyone, "Continue to harvest wheat!"

As usual, one person worked three furrows of land, and they all lowered their heads and walked forward. However, this time, the men and women began to joke and chat. "Da Zhuang's boy, did Da Zhuang work hard on your belly last night? You obviously don't have the strength to cut the wheat today."

"Erluzi, your thing doesn't work? Do you want our Dazhuang to go to your house and help you loosen the soil?"

"Hahaha!" Hearty laughter could be heard from the wheat fields from time to time.

Hearing the faint singing coming from afar, Uncle Yan looked up and squinted his eyes, then turned back and shouted to stop: "Okay, stop talking about those nonsense! The students are here."

"Whoever is acting out of line again, I'll give him a slap in the face!"

Seeing the students approaching, Uncle Yan returned to the ridge from the wheat field, called Wang Deming and introduced him to the teacher in charge: "Hello, comrade, I am the president of our mutual aid society and the president of our village farmers' association. My last name is Yan."

The leading teacher smiled and said, "We are from Changping County Middle School. We participated in labor in Qinjia Village the past two days, and will participate in labor in Wayao Village today and tomorrow. Comrade Yan, please help arrange accommodation for the students. We have brought our own food, and please help provide firewood so that we can cook it ourselves."

"How can this be possible?" Grandpa Yan refused. "The children are exhausted from bringing free dry food to help us with work. How can we let them cook for themselves?"

He shouted to the wheat field: "Da Zhuang's."

"I'm here. Sir, what's up?"

"Take the elders in our group and light up the big pot. Cook a pot of mung bean soup first, and add more sugar. Then help the children cook lunch at noon. Oh, and boil an egg for each child. The cost will be deducted from our mutual aid society's account."

"Comrade Yan, no, no," the teacher in charge immediately refused, "We are here to support rural construction. How can we eat the eggs you have worked so hard to save?"

"Why not?" Grandpa Yan glared, "How can the children do physical labor without eating something good? How can they study well if they are exhausted?"

He turned back and ordered, "First, clean up all the warehouses in the community, and then arrange a few more for each family with more rooms."

The teacher was still hesitant, "This"

"What is this? Listen to me."

The teaching teacher turned around and said to the students, "Thank you, Comrade Yan." "Thank you, Uncle Yan!" The students were so excited to hear that they would get an egg at noon. The sounds of thanks were deafening.

Uncle Yan instructed Wang Deming again, "Deming, take the children to the warehouse, put their luggage away first, and then help check their clothes and ensure labor protection."

"Okay." Wang Deming nodded and said to the teacher, "You and the children should follow me first."

"Oh." The teacher looked at Wang Deming and saw that he did not look like an ordinary farmer. Although he was wearing linen clothes, they were very clean and tidy without any patches. He asked, "Who are you?"

"Oh, I grew up in the village. I'm working in the capital now. I came back specially to harvest the wheat."

"Students, this comrade did not forget to come back to harvest wheat after working in the city. This spirit is worth learning from." The instructor immediately found a point worth teaching and shouted to the students: "When we drink water, we should remember the well diggers. When we eat food, we should not forget the hard work of the farmers. Who knows what is on the plate?"

"Every grain of rice is hard-earned." The students said in unison.

"it is good!"

The so-called warehouse is actually the former landlord’s compound, which usually serves as the office and meeting place of the mutual aid society. The smooth mud ground in front of the compound, which is rolled back and forth by a stone mill, is the threshing ground.

At this time, some members were already using a wooden thresher to shake the wheat that had been harvested in the early morning back and forth to remove the grains from the ears, and then spread them evenly on the threshing floor.

After bringing the students over, the women in the village naturally helped to put their luggage away first, and then checked one by one to see if they were wearing long sleeves and long pants, if they had towels around their necks, if they were wearing slippers, etc.

Don't underestimate these details. As long as any part of the body is exposed, it won't take long for the skin to peel off due to sun exposure and it will also be scratched by straw.

After the women finished checking, they moved several large pots out of the warehouse and started to make a fire and boil water in the yard. Wang Deming took the students back to the wheat fields.

Because he was worried that the students were not proficient in using the sickles, Uncle Yan specially selected a few people to work with the students. He demonstrated slowly first, and then let the students start to harvest wheat.

A few days later, the wheat harvest was over. After eating several steamed buns made from the new wheat, Wang Deming helped the cooperative calculate the agricultural tax that needed to be paid, which was 15% of the total output. After deducting production costs, public welfare funds, and provident funds, about 15% was paid. Then, about 20% was paid for renting the members' land and large livestock. The remaining part was distributed according to the number of days worked.

After everything was settled, Wang Deming did not return to the city immediately. He had to take the time to replant soybeans and peanuts after the wheat harvest. If some cooperatives had a poor wheat harvest, they had to replant corn and other crops.

The busy farming season ends from mid-July to the end of July.

Before Wang Deming returned to the city, he heard exciting news on the village radio!

"Xinhua News Agency: We successfully defeated the imperialist coalition led by the United States, won the Korean War, and effectively protected the lives and safety of the Korean people and the people of Northeast my country."

"It has effectively maintained the stability of the motherland!"

"The imperialist threat of war has been crushed!"

"Long live the People's Republic of China!"

(End of this chapter)