Chapter 37 County Cadres

Chapter 37 County Cadres

Song Jinbao and the young men warmly escorted them down the mountain, wishing they could accompany them to their final destination.

Unfortunately, after Feng Chen and Tang Yuan washed their faces by the river and took a brief rest, they bid farewell to them.

Song Jinbao and the others were extremely impressed with Feng Chen, "Brother Zheng, you have such strength; it's amazing how you can push all this stuff by yourself."

Men tend not to focus on faces but rather on height and muscle.

If someone is stronger or better at fighting than oneself, one naturally admires them.

"Brother Zheng, Sister-in-Law, come back early next month!"

It would be time to harvest the new wheat around then.

Feng Chen focused on pushing the cart, while Tang Yuan waved a farewell, "Of course."

Though they had a wheelbarrow for the return journey, the added weight of the grain and the small water jar made it no easy task.

Feng Chen looked as if he could handle anything, never showing any signs of fatigue or complaint.

Tang Yuan deliberately took a half-step back, covertly admiring his impressive muscles.

Pushing a cart engages the entire body, especially when the road is uneven; one must maintain balance and have strong arms to control the direction and handle bumps.

Tang Yuan had already felt his muscles up close; even relaxed, they were firm and full of resilient strength.

Feng Chen noticed her covert glances and was puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Caught in the act, Tang Yuan cleared her throat, "Nothing, I just feel... something isn't quite right."

Just as she was about to make up an excuse, she spotted a figure nearby and immediately pointed, "That person!"

Her memory was excellent, and she recognized people easily, especially after having saved him just yesterday evening.

Why wasn't this man at home? What was he doing here?

The man emerged from the bushes beside the road, nodded slightly, and greeted them, "Fellow villagers, thank you for saving me yesterday."

Last night, he ate the bread Tang Yuan gave him and stayed at an elderly man's house at the foot of the mountain, where he had some porridge.

After assessing the situation, he left early to wait for his rescuers nearby.

Blocking their path, Feng Chen stopped, looking at him coldly.

Tang Yuan asked, "You didn't go home?"

The man smiled bitterly, "My home is in Binxian County, which is quite far from here."

Binxian County was where Tang Yuan and the others lived, while this poor village was in Shangzhou County.

Tang Yuan sized up the man; he wore a dark blue cadre uniform with four pockets, and had a scholarly appearance.

Is he a cadre?

Feng Chen's voice was cold, "Sorry, we need to keep moving."

Tang Yuan smiled at the man, "You can ask the local cadres for help."

The man began introducing himself, "Fellow villagers, I'm not a bad person. My name is Ji Hongyue, and I am a cadre from Binxian County. While working in the countryside, I was ambushed by thugs and fell into the river, ending up here."

He was unfamiliar with the area.

He then took out his work ID, which had been soaked in water, though the photo and the red stamp from Binxian County were still visible.

Hearing that he was a cadre working in the countryside, Tang Yuan instantly felt a sense of camaraderie. In her previous life, she too had been a cadre involved in poverty alleviation and understood the hardships.

She examined the ID carefully, feeling a strange familiarity. She tried to recall where she had heard this name before.

Ah, she remembered!

Ji Hongyue, a background character in the original story, had once served as the acting head of the County Agriculture Group. At that time, government agencies were still in the form of revolutionary committees, similar to later agricultural bureaus.

Ji Hongyue did not have a formal role in the story but was mentioned in conversations between Tang Xiang and Song Huazhang.

After settling the share of medicinal herbs with Uncle Feng, Tang Xiang and Song Huazhang commissioned others to gather herbs, which they bought at a base price and sold to the County Hospital at an agreed rate.

Gradually, they became familiar with the deputy director responsible for herbal acquisitions at the hospital, who mentioned a young cadre from the Agriculture Bureau who wanted to reform the county's crop planting structure and public grain collection policies. If successful, those responsible for acquiring medicinal herbs, tobacco, cotton, and fruits would lose their positions.

The deputy director predicted that this cadre was too inexperienced and radical, and would not last long due to the many interests he threatened.

Indeed, whenever the cadre tried to conduct field visits, accidents occurred: bridges breaking during river crossings, landslides during inspections, and attacks by thugs.

Eventually, during a field visit, he "accidentally" fell off a cliff.

The militia found his mutilated body, torn apart by wild animals.

Seeing Tang Yuan staring at Ji Hongyue's photo, Feng Chen felt uncomfortable and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tang Yuan snapped back to reality, smiling, "I've never seen a work ID of a high-ranking cadre from the county before; I'm just curious."

She handed the ID back to Ji Hongyue.

At this point, Ji Hongyue was likely still a greenhorn, full of passion but lacking experience and unable to see the dangers of human nature.

In theory, a young idealist should not be appointed as the head of the Agriculture Bureau, but these were special times. Even the county mayor and party secretary might lack competence, having risen through political movements. How much more so for a cadre of the Agriculture Group?

Moreover, some individuals held significant administrative and economic power in the county and preferred incompetent people in higher positions to consolidate their own interests.

Those in power come and go, all incompetent ones, so they can forever hold onto their benefits.

Tang Yuan doesn't understand politics. In her previous life, she was officially a poverty alleviation officer but in reality, an agricultural advisor, someone who worked with technology and practical projects. She did whatever her superiors told her to do, and with her position, she couldn't get involved in the struggles and comings and goings of the leadership.

So even though she has transmigrated into this world and knows some of the original plot, she has no way to help Ji Hongyue with his political battles.

Knowing he is an idealistic and ambitious good cadre, Tang Yuan wants to help him, but taking him back to the mountain isn't appropriate.

That's the base of the big shot; if the County Agriculture Group officials find out, wouldn't it cause trouble?

Seeing that Ji Hongyue seems reluctant to return to the county and instead wants to follow them, she tentatively says, "Cadre Ji, our home is far from here, and we need to cross mountains and rivers..."

Ji Hongyue: "I have good legs and feet and can walk myself. I want to visit your village."

This trip was meant for field visits, but there was an unexpected incident along the way.

Before taking office, he was full of passion, wanting to do real things for farmers. Upon arriving in Binxian County, he found many unreasonable aspects and wanted to implement reforms. However, he felt constrained at every turn and kept hitting roadblocks. He refused to give up and decided to visit each commune and village, using his own feet to measure every corner of the county.

Who knew that along the way, accidents kept happening, making him wonder if all his bad luck had suddenly converged.

Though he might be a bit naive and idealistic, he isn't stupid. He quickly figured out what was going on.

He needs to avoid those spies and infiltrate a purely farming community, or else just stay in the county as a useless cadre.

Now, Ji Hongyue is more cautious. He notices that although Tang Yuan and Feng Chen are dressed as farmers in coarse clothes and straw shoes, Tang Yuan is beautiful, with clear eyes and articulate speech, not like a shy rural girl who stutters when seeing strangers. Feng Chen is tall and handsome, with a distinguished aura, especially his sharp black eyes, which don't look like those of ordinary farmers but rather like a military elite.

He guesses that Feng Chen might be a retired soldier, now part of the militia team.

These two are kind and have a clear and upright demeanor; they should be able to help him.

Although he lacks experience, he has seen people with such qualities before. He wants to follow them.

"Please rest assured, I will pay for my meals. Our cadres pay one jin of food tickets plus twenty fen per day when we stay in the countryside. I can offer one and a half jin of food tickets plus fifty fen. Of course, I don't have it now, but I can write an IOU."

Originally, he was very proud and self-respecting, never wanting to impose on anyone. But now he knows he can't go back, and there might be more unexpected incidents waiting for him along the way.

He needs to find a safe place to hide temporarily.

Tang Yuan doesn't make decisions on her own but looks at Feng Chen, who seems to leave the decision to her. However, she can see his reluctance.

He doesn't want Ji Hongyue to go to their reclamation site.

After a moment's thought, Tang Yuan says to Ji Hongyue, "Cadre Ji, I think you should find a powerful backer in the city, firmly cling to a strong supporter, and apply to bring a couple of skilled police officers with guns to protect you. Then, find a few honest and upright village cadres, infiltrate the brigade, and gain the support of the villagers and commune members. With their support, no one would dare to touch you easily."

For grassroots cadres to accomplish anything in a complex environment, they must have backing from above and support from below.

Individual peasants are powerless, and anyone can step on them, but a united village of peasants can scare even the County Party Committee and Public Security Bureau.

Ji Hongyue knows she is right, but he feels conflicted inside. Previously, he believed in having integrity and doing things based on ability, without flattery or relying on connections.

Now, reality has given him a harsh slap. On his own, he seems helpless. But thinking about his parents still in exile, he must achieve something to have a chance to bring them back home.

He is quite interested in Feng Chen, who can move freely in the mountains. If he could be his bodyguard, it would be great.

Unfortunately, Feng Chen isn't interested. The big shot only wants to farm with Tang Yuan.

Tang Yuan: "Cadre Ji, why don't you go to Tangjia Village in Shuangmen Mountain Commune and find Captain Tang Bingde? He is a very upright and respected captain and will definitely help you."

She thinks these two are a perfect match.

Tang Bingde wants to do real things for the villagers and reduce cotton planting to increase food crops, while Ji Hongyue also wants to reform Binxian County's unreasonable agricultural policies.

They should work well together.

Hearing this, Ji Hongyue immediately bows respectfully, "Please lead the way and introduce me."

Although he is a county cadre, who made him fall into trouble?

Feng Chen nods his chin towards one side, "You can exit the mountain from that direction, take a bus to the commune, then go to Shangzhou County, and transfer to Annan City. You'll pass through Shuangmen Mountain Commune; ask around, and you'll find Tangjia Village."

Tang Yuan nods repeatedly, "Yes, Cadre Ji, when you get to Tangjia Village, find my Seventh Grandfather. Tell him I recommended him. Oh, my name is Tang Yuan."

Ji Hongyue is a bit speechless. Why are these two... so strange? Aren't you going back to the village?

If you're going back, couldn't you just take me with you?

Why make me take such a long detour?

Honestly, he still feels unsettled after being saved by Tang Yuan and Feng Chen. After encountering danger, he is like a frightened bird, stubbornly believing that only these two are good and pose no threat to him.

Even if he goes to find Captain Tang Bingde, it would be best if Tang Yuan personally takes him there.

Tang Yuan explains honestly, "Cadre Ji, we can't reach our village from this direction." She points to the mountains, "There's a natural barrier over there, and we can't cross it. We also..." She turns and points, fabricating a story: "Initially, we came around from here."

Ji Hongyue clearly has no concept of vast mountains. His hometown is flat, and during his time in the capital, he never saw such continuous mountains.

Such mountains give him the feeling that a short distance might require a day or two to travel.

His expression becomes a bit anxious, and his gaze falls on the handcart. Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in his head.

He realizes that this couple might be secretly hunting and reclaiming land in the mountains, not wanting others to know.

If they bring him into the mountains, they might worry about exposing their location.

He immediately states, "Don't worry, fellow villagers. Whatever you do in the mountains, as long as the brigade doesn't interfere, I won't either. After all, whatever you do in the mountains is your skill. As long as there are no mines, the government won't plan anything soon."

In remote and inaccessible mountains, unless the government organizes road construction, commune cadres won't care about who reclaims land and cultivates it, nor will they demand public grain contributions.

The cost is too high, not worth it.

Hearing this, Tang Yuan laughed, her eyebrows arching gracefully. "Comrade Ji, really?"

Ji Hongyue smiled and nodded firmly. "Really, I guarantee it!"

Others' guarantees might lack persuasion, but Ji Hongyue was a man of his word who wasn't adept at political games, making him trustworthy.

Tang Yuan turned to look at Feng Chen.

Seeing the spark in her bright eyes, Feng Chen didn’t want to disappoint her, so he nodded in agreement but said coldly, "If you break your promise, there will be consequences."

Ji Hongyue: "..."

Though he was a man of his word, seeing a young villager like Feng Chen face a county cadre without any fear and even issue threats was truly... extraordinary.

Ji Hongyue had dealt with rural farmers before. Regardless of their personalities, they usually became flustered and tongue-tied in front of cadres, often looking as if they wanted to bury their heads in the ground.

How could anyone be as composed as these two?

He decided that these two were no ordinary people and felt they could be of great help.

Thus, Ji Hongyue joined their team and was unceremoniously ordered by Feng Chen to carry thirty pounds of grain.

Ji Hongyue immediately transformed into a diligent and hardworking ox.

When it was just Tang Yuan and Feng Chen, she would chatter away while he occasionally responded. Now, Ji Hongyue talked to her while Feng Chen listened silently.

Ji Hongyue was gathering information, asking what crops their brigade mainly grew and what public grain they contributed. Upon learning that their brigade needed to grow a lot of cotton, he exclaimed in surprise.

According to his understanding of policy, several brigades in Shuangmenshan Commune had more mountains than arable land and were unsuitable for growing cotton, thus having no cotton quota.

One of these brigades was the Forward Brigade, which included Tangjia Village.

From Tang Yuan’s words, it seemed that Tangjiacun Brigade had a heavy cotton quota, indicating they were unaware that their brigade had no such quota.

Without a cotton quota, yet required to grow the most cotton and contribute the most lint cotton!

Where did this batch of cotton go if not into the national treasury?

Someone must be deliberately deceiving higher-ups for personal gain.

This was despicable and unforgivable!

Ji Hongyue trembled with anger.

Seeing his shaking legs, Tang Yuan kindly suggested, "Let's rest and have something to eat."

In the morning, she had traded some grain with Aunt Song for some flatbreads for the journey, along with some pickles to go with them.

The coarse grain flatbreads, without any refined flour, were dry and hard to swallow.

It was clear that Ji Hongyue struggled to swallow them.

Tang Yuan sympathized; county cadres usually ate white flour steamed buns and were likely unaccustomed to coarse grains.

She handed him the bamboo tube. "Comrade Ji, drink some water."

The bamboo tube was obtained from Shibancun Village.

They also traded for a wooden basin, which was sturdier and more durable than a clay pot.

Feng Chen glanced at her and silently handed her the water flask he was carrying.

Tang Yuan smiled at him and whispered, "Comrade Ji is a good cadre; he will definitely help reduce our brigade's cotton quota."

Having Ji Hongyue along made the journey somewhat easier, and he could help move things on steep paths.

This allowed him to witness Feng Chen’s extraordinary strength more directly, making him even more eager to persuade him to become his bodyguard, promising an urban household registration and a monthly salary of no less than fifty yuan.

Unfortunately, the farming expert showed no interest in being a bodyguard.

In his past life, no one had ever managed to make him a bodyguard either.

For the latter part of the journey, Ji Hongyue started chattering incessantly, seemingly believing it would ease his fatigue. He kept praising Feng Chen’s strength, suggesting he should join the military or become a police officer.

Feng Chen remained silent, and Tang Yuan pretended not to hear much of it.

On the first night, they stayed in the small cave they had used on their way.

The cave was small; originally, it was just right for Tang Yuan and Feng Chen, but now with Ji Hongyue, it was a bit cramped.

Although it was late April, the mountain nights were still cool, so Tang Yuan brought a quilt.

To lighten the load, Feng Chen hadn’t brought one. At night, Tang Yuan used the quilt, while Feng Chen didn’t need one.

However, Ji Hongyue didn’t have Feng Chen’s robust constitution and shivered without a quilt.

Feng Chen let Tang Yuan sleep in the cave and set up a campfire at the entrance to warm Ji Hongyue.

Ji Hongyue acted as if he were being considerate and told Feng Chen, "Brother Feng, go sleep in the cave."

Young couples, after all, shouldn’t feel embarrassed.

Feng Chen ignored him.

Hearing the howling wind mixed with the roars of wild beasts, Ji Hongyue’s heart trembled, and he couldn’t help moving closer to Feng Chen.

Feng Chen moved away slightly, maintaining his distance.

Ji Hongyue gave a nervous laugh. "It's fine, Brother Feng. You go and keep your wife company. I can sleep here."

A man cannot admit to being scared.

Feng Chen, however, lay down on the makeshift bed of dry branches with his clothes on and fell asleep.

Ji Hongyue suddenly had another realization. "Brother Feng, you and Tang Yuan aren't actually married, are you?"

Feng Chen: If you keep talking, I'll cut out your tongue!

Knowing that Feng Chen and Tang Yuan were not married, Ji Hongyue started calling Tang Yuan "Tang Mei Mei" the next day, while still referring to Feng Chen as "Brother Feng."

Tang Yuan didn't mind, but Feng Chen began to order Ji Hongyue around even more, not allowing him to get too close to Tang Yuan.

They returned with fragile pots, walking even more carefully along the way, and it wasn't until the third morning that they arrived back at the clearing site.

Initially, Ji Hongyue was awed by the vastness of the mountains, the perilous cliffs, and the majestic peaks, but later he just trudged along with his head hanging low, wishing he could lie down and never get up again.

Finally reaching the clearing, he couldn't even bother to look around before sprawling on the ground, closing his eyes. "Let me take a nap."

If his parents saw their son, who always complained about the hardness of beds and mattresses, now sleeping soundly in the wild, they would probably shed tears of heartache.

Tang Yuan and Feng Chen, however, immediately went to inspect the wooden shack, the fields, the compost pit, the dried bricks, the cave, and the smoked meat.

Everything was as usual.

Tang Yuan smiled. "The place you found is really great."

No wild beasts had come to cause trouble.

Of course, they might have been scared off by the aura of the big boss, fearing they'd become his stockpile of food.

Feng Chen followed Tang Yuan's instructions and arranged the supplies they brought back.

The food was stored in the cave where people slept for safety.

Miscellaneous items were placed in a smaller cave.

Though the items seemed numerous on the journey, when organizing them, it felt like there was much less than expected.

Tang Yuan sighed. "When we were carrying everything, it felt like so much. I wish we had bought less. Now that we're done, I wish we had bought more. The self that suffered isn't the self right now."

Seeing her still joking despite her fatigue, Feng Chen's eyes softened.

Feng Chen: "Take a nap. I'll ask Ji Hongyue to help build the brick bed."

Tang Yuan remembered the collapsed brick bed at Feng's house and asked, "Do you know how to build one?"

Feng Chen paused for a moment. "Building a brick bed is simple... right?"

He certainly didn't know how, and neither did the original owner.

He had originally planned to learn from Dad Tang, but then they came to the mountains.

Tang Yuan: "..."

I'm a bit skeptical. I'm afraid I might fall off in the middle of the night.

She didn't dare sleep; she needed to guide the big boss.

Although she had never built one herself, in her previous life, she had seen many and even helped study energy-efficient stoves.

Here, they didn't need energy efficiency, but a regular stove should be doable, right?

Though neither of them knew how to build a brick bed, both were technically skilled and meticulous, planning the size, position, and shape meticulously.

However, building a brick bed involved mud, making it more challenging.

The big boss found the mud less cooperative than his knife.

Tang Yuan thought, Forget it, building a brick bed is too hard. Why don't we just stack stones and bricks? It'll be like a non-heatable brick mattress.

To their surprise, Ji Hongyue knew how to build a brick bed!

Tang Yuan was quite surprised. "Officer Ji, you're so down-to-earth!"

Officer Ji is impressive!

After resting for a while and regaining his spirit, Ji Hongyue declared confidently, "Of course! I helped my grandfather build one when I was a kid."

Tang Yuan: "Um, Officer Ji, may I ask how old you were?"

Ji Hongyue: "Around five or six years old. Don't worry, I'm very smart and have a good memory. I remember things from when I was three or four, so remembering something from five or six is no problem."

Tang Yuan glanced at Feng Chen, somewhat doubtful.

Feng Chen, however, indicated that they could let him try.

But they didn't have time to dig for stone slabs.

Ji Hongyue said irregular stones could also work, similar to building a wall. A good mason wouldn't have trouble using irregular stones, filling gaps with small stones and yellow mud.

With Ji Hongyue's technical support, the three worked together to build a two-meter by two-and-a-half-meter brick bed.

Initially, Tang Yuan wanted a two-meter by two-meter bed, which was plenty for her and Feng Chen.

But when Ji Hongyue heard it was only for the two of them, he protested.

He decisively suggested building it larger since there were plenty of adobe bricks.

He said, "We'll build a thin wall at the two-thirds point; you can sleep on that side, and Feng Chen and I will sleep on this side."

To make him sleep alone in the small cave was absolutely out of the question!

Was he not afraid?

He also wanted to sleep in the same room as Feng Chen!

The platform for the heated brick bed was completed. No matter how many times they had to redo it, the result was good.

This was a well-constructed heated brick bed.

They opened a stove port facing the cave entrance and built a cooking stove, placing a double-eared iron pot on top so they could both heat the bed and cook.

The flue, made of stones and adobe bricks, was constructed under the end of the bed, extending towards the cave entrance to directly vent smoke outside.

If not for Ji Hongyue, Tang Yuan and Feng Chen might not have managed the flue.

Tang Yuan was very satisfied.

Feng Chen smoothed over all the protruding parts with mud until every surface of the heated brick bed was perfectly flat.

After completing the platform, they needed to let it dry for two days. To speed up the process, they used a small fire to slowly dry it, hoping to sleep on the heated bed soon.

In the evening, Tang Yuan asked Feng Chen to help slice some smoked meat. His knife skills were excellent, slicing the meat uniformly and beautifully, which could cure one's OCD.

She stewed a pot of smoked meat and chestnuts and boiled a small basin of various wild vegetables, regardless of their bitterness, all cooked together without fuss.

She then steamed a ring of dumplings on top of the smoked meat using a mixture of flour.

Although this wasn't the best season for making smoked meat and it hadn't been cured long enough, it was still meat!

Not only did Feng Chen find it delicious, but even Ji Hongyue, who hadn't lacked meat, eggs, and milk before his parents were sent down, found it incredibly fragrant.

He ate until his mouth was greasy, constantly giving a thumbs-up and praising, "Sister Tang, your cooking is unbeatable."

Tang Yuan poured him a bowl of water infused with dandelion roots to cool him down, "Cadre Ji, may all your wishes come true, and may our farmers enjoy white bread buns with braised pork!"

Ji Hongyue swallowed hard, silently clenched his fist, and nodded firmly.

Feng Chen poured Tang Yuan a bowl of water and secretly added a piece of malt sugar.

Ji Hongyue saw this and reached out, "My water is too bitter; I want some sugar too."

Feng Chen kept a stern face, glanced at Ji Hongyue, and said calmly, "There's none left."

Unless you go sleep in the small cave!

Ji Hongyue: "How could that be? I just saw a big bag."

Feng Chen insisted there was none left.

Tang Yuan drank her sweet water contentedly, feeling happy inside.

In a couple of days, they would return home, bringing back some sugar, smoked meat, and fine flour to share with Grandma Feng and her parents.

Ah, she missed them a bit.

They stayed in the mountains for two days, with Feng Chen constantly making Ji Hongyue work. Now, following Tang Yuan's guidance, they paused clearing land and instead collected humus soil, gathered plant leaves for compost, and sprinkled wood ash in small amounts.

Additionally, they built separate toilets for men and women. Although their composting efforts might take ages to be effective, the difference between humans and animals included not defecating anywhere.

Calculating that the village should be harvesting wheat, Tang Yuan and Feng Chen discussed returning.

A major storm was expected in a few days, and she feared Secretary Liu might reject Tang Bingde's decision to harvest the wheat. With the support of Cadre Ji, Tang Bingde would gain more credibility.

As a poverty alleviation cadre, she couldn't bear seeing the village's grain washed away and had to help.

So they packed up, sealed everything that needed sealing, hung items that needed ventilation, and built a short wall with a wooden fence at the cave entrance.

Since the cave faced north and was slightly higher than the valley floor, and the mountains blocked summer typhoons, the cave wouldn't be flooded by heavy rains.

They took Ji Hongyue and didn't go through Boulder Peak but took a longer route from another direction.

They crossed a treacherous canyon that nearly scared Cadre Ji to death, and after two and a half days, they could exit from another team's territory, less than ten miles from Tangjia Village.

~~

~~

Tangjia Village.

Every year, when the wheat was about to ripen, Tang Bingde would ride around the fields, observing which plots were ripe and which were nearing ripeness to plan the harvest.

This year, April and May had been dry, with only a few useless drizzles, relying entirely on the accumulated water in the riverbeds.

He grew increasingly anxious, remembering the "Fish Immortal" predicting heavy rain during the harvest, patrolling day and night, barely sleeping, dreaming of either heavy rain or the wheat being washed away, causing his mouth to blister.

Despite a few scattered showers, they were useless, so he believed the Fish Immortal's forecast—early heavy rain during the harvest—and decided to harvest early!

He identified several plots that, while not yet ripe, wouldn't significantly reduce yield if harvested a couple of days early. If they waited until fully ripe and then faced heavy rain, it would all be ruined.

Heavy rain would flatten the wheat fields, and everyone knew that submerged wheat grains would quickly sprout.

He called the captains and sub-captains of each production team, pointing out the plots and instructing them to lead all the laborers, including the elderly and children, to rush the harvest.

Captain Wang Changshun, Secretary Liu's son-in-law, looked doubtful, "Chief, the wheat isn't ripe yet when you bite into it."

Wheat is usually harvested at nine-tenths maturity; now it wasn't even at nine-tenths, and harvesting early would reduce yield.

Tang Bingde, who had been stressed lately, had a sore throat and looked increasingly serious, his voice low, "Do you think I don't know when the wheat is ripe at my age? April and May have been dry; what if it rains heavily during the harvest?"

The Fish Immortal says it will definitely rain heavily!

Wang Changshun whispered, "That doesn't necessarily mean it will rain, though. It's been so dry for so long; maybe the summer will be dry too."

He always listened to his father-in-law, and if his father-in-law hadn’t told him to harvest the wheat, he didn’t want to move.

He tried to rally support from the second team leader and other squad leaders. "You’ve all seen it; the wheat isn’t ripe enough yet. Should we discuss it with the Party Secretary?"

If they asked the Party Secretary, he would definitely disagree, as a reduced wheat yield would affect the public grain quota.

Party Secretary Liu was the most selfless cadre, and even his own brigade had to pay the full public grain quota.

However, the second team leader listened to Tang Bingde, and he also believed in the Fish Immortal.

He had a good relationship with Dad Tang, who often privately recounted how the Fish Immortal had saved his daughter and Big Black. He found it incredible, and given that it hadn’t rained for so long, it seemed just like what the Fish Immortal had predicted.

The Fish Immortal said it would rain heavily, so it might really happen!