Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Shen Banyue dug into the dirt nimbly, and when the golden bamboo shoot shells were fully exposed, she hacked the shoot off in two quick chops, then casually helped Nie Yuanbai chop off the one he'd dug up too.

Nie Yuanbai was used to it by now, not at all bothered that a grown man was less handy than a kid at farm work. He mused, "You've got a point. I've heard some of the old-timers in the village say that during the great disaster over a decade ago, Shanxi County was hit too, with crop yields cut by more than half. Then the county built a reservoir, and in recent years, even when the weather got a bit dry, it wasn't as bad as back then. But if another big disaster hits, that reservoir would be a drop in the bucket."

Xiaodun Brigade had a good vibe; most folks just minded their own business in the fields, with little trouble. Especially after those Revolutionary Committee guys stirred up trouble a few years back, everyone got even more sick of that kind of nonsense, and they warmed up a lot to the three who'd been sent down.

Nie Yuanbai was sharp as a tack, and over the years, he'd managed to shoot the breeze with quite a few folks, even making friends with some of the old-timers who liked chatting with him, thinking he was well-read and open-minded.

"I went to the county seat once and heard folks say that in some places, they use tractors to plow, irrigation ditches to water, pick better seeds, and use fertilizer. The yields are great, and the work's not backbreaking," Shen Banyue said.

Lin Mian was gathering the chopped shoots into a bamboo basket. He shot Shen Banyue a look. They'd been together day in and day out for years, but when he thought back, he couldn't remember ever hearing that on their trips to the county seat.

He had a great memory, so he couldn't have just forgotten. That meant Shen Banyue was just making up a story to pull one over on Nie Yuanbai.

Lin Mian smirked a little but kept his mouth shut, silently deciding that next time he hit the county's state-run bookstore, besides reading math and science books, he'd also check out some farming books.

"Science and tech can really boost productivity and save people from backbreaking farm work, but tractors, irrigation ditches, and fertilizer all cost money," Nie Yuanbai let out a sigh.

After a few years in Xiaodun Brigade, he'd grown fond of the land and its down-to-earth farmers. Though life was tough, these years had been the most relaxed and carefree he'd had in ten years.

But maybe the hard times had dulled his edge. Before the little girl brought it up, he'd never thought to use what he knew to help or change the village.

Now that he was thinking about it, even as he muttered, "All that costs money," his mind started automatically weighing the possibilities.

It wasn't totally out of the question.

For irrigation and flood control, they could dig channels, build waterwheels, and put up embankments. Without cement, they could use clay, lime, or rock. Without steel, they could get by with wood or bamboo. As for tractors, if they were just for plowing, even if they couldn't buy one, couldn't they rig up something simple? If they could scrounge up some scrap parts and figure out the power... Thinking about it, Nie Yuanbai sighed again.

"Scrap parts are hard to find, and scrap diesel engines even harder," he mumbled to himself.

Shen Banyue had no clue what he'd been thinking during his silence, how he'd jumped from "all that costs money" to scrap parts, but she could guess that even as he said it was impossible, he was already mulling it over.

She grinned and chimed in, "You can ask my uncle and Uncle Guoqiang about scrap parts. They work at the machinery factory and should be able to get their hands on that stuff. Also, the scrap yard—our commune's yard has next to nothing, but the county's yard has plenty. I've seen busted bikes and rusty iron frames there."

"How about this," Shen Banyue said in a tone like a pyramid scheme salesman, "Uncle Nie, you go home and write up a plan. Once we have a plan, I can per—uh, talk the brigade leader and the others into it easy."

Nie Yuanbai: "..."

Don't think I didn't notice—you meant 'con' the brigade leader.

He finally realized the little girl had been leading him on to write a plan all along, and he was both amused and exasperated. "You little girl, you even know to write a plan before doing something?"

Shen Banyue replied confidently, "I'm not an illiterate."

She was about to get her elementary school diploma.

Nie Yuanbai laughed heartily and said no more, but Shen Banyue knew he had agreed. So the next day, she secretly sent him a fountain pen, a bottle of ink, and a stack of manuscript paper stamped with the red lettering of Shanxi County Machinery Factory, providing excellent logistical support.

Along the way, she also started "spreading rumors" in the village—about floods drowning people somewhere, about droughts causing crop failures elsewhere, forcing people to dig for roots and eat tree bark—stirring up memories that weren't too distant for the commune members.

Even though the past two years had been blessed with good weather and abundant harvests, with almost every household having surplus grain, everyone began to "prepare for danger in times of peace," worrying that good times would be followed by bad.

After so many good years, surely bad times were coming?

The brigade's cadres were baffled. The autumn harvest grain had just been distributed not long ago, and this year the brigade had raised six more pigs than usual, promising plenty of pork by year-end. Life was improving day by day, so why were the commune members all looking so glum?

When Shen Banyue handed the plan, written by Nie Yuanbai burning the midnight oil, to Shen Zhenxing, he flipped through the thick stack of paper and understood everything.

"Build irrigation channels, waterwheels, embankments..." Shen Zhenxing's tone changed as he flipped. "And build your own farming machines and tractors? Why don't you just fly to the sky?!"

Shen Banyue looked around, put on a sneaky expression, and whispered, "This plan was written by Nie Yuanbai. Grandpa, do you know what he did before he was sent down?"

As the brigade leader, Shen Zhenxing knew a bit: "Some research institute, I heard, similar to a machinery factory engineer." He looked at Shen Banyue. "What, is it not? He couldn't be building atomic bombs, could he?"

Shen Banyue shook her head. "Not atomic bombs, but probably weapons, not like an ordinary machinery factory engineer."

Shen Zhenxing's eyes widened. "How do you know? Did he tell you?"

Shen Banyue shook her head again, pointing two fingers at her eyes. "I deduced it from hints and observation."

Shen Zhenxing remained skeptical. "If he really built weapons, such an important talent, would the state have sent him down?"

Shen Banyue couldn't help saying, "If they're sending people down, they don't care what you did." She lowered her voice again, whispering, "Once, when he was teaching us, he let something slip and mentioned it."

Shen Zhenxing was half-convinced and waved his hand. "Leave this with me. I'll take a look first."

Shen Banyue didn't expect to convince him right away and was about to leave when Shen Zhenxing called her back. "It's fine if you secretly interact with the sent-down personnel, as long as it's to learn something, but be careful not to give anyone a handle to criticize you."

Shen Banyue nodded absentmindedly and was about to go when Shen Zhenxing added, "And when you talk about things, don't spread rumors in the village. It's almost New Year in two or three months. Keep it quiet and let everyone have a peaceful holiday!"

This troublesome kid.

Shen Banyue grinned and bolted away.

Keeping quiet was out of the question—time was running out!

To convince Shen Zhenxing of the plan's feasibility, Shen Banyue and Nie Yuanbai decided to start by improving the brigade's basic farm tools. Together with Lv Fang, who had worked at a steel plant, a group of "mediocre minds" outshone several Zhuge Liangs. In just over a week, they modified a brand-new plow.

Originally, Xiaodun Brigade mainly used traditional wooden plows and a double-wheel, double-share plow brought from the north. Building on that, Shen Banyue and the others increased the number of plowshares and adjusted the plow's structure, largely solving the problem of controlling the double-wheel plow's draft force. The new plow was lighter and covered more area.

The only drawback was a lack of materials. Apart from the plowshares, most of the plow was made of wood by Carpenter Song, so it probably wouldn't be as durable as an all-iron double-wheel plow.

Even so, when the new plow was brought out for a trial, it caused a stir throughout the brigade.

"With so many plowshares, can the ox pull it? Even the two-share one was tough for the ox," someone doubted.

"It looks good to me. Those plowshares look much sharper than the old ones. The old ones would dull after plowing a little, making the ox struggle. This one's materials are solid—it'll plow smoothly. Oh, I want to try it myself!" someone optimistic and eager said.

"This was made by Xiao Yue and the kids? How is that possible? It looks no different from what comes out of the machinery factory. The plowshares are gleaming—seems even better quality than factory-made ones."

"I heard the wooden frame was made by Carpenter Song, and the plowshares were forged at Old Liu's blacksmith shop with the kids. My aunt's sister-in-law's nephew works at the blacksmith shop, and he said the kids are sharp—they learned quickly and could work on their own. Especially Xiao Yue—what she forged is as good as the old blacksmith's. Oh, how clever is Wang Guizhi? Raising these two kids is so much better than raising Shen Ailin."

"Oh, stop it, here comes Hu Huaihua!"

Someone whispered, "I heard the blueprint for this thing was drawn by someone in the cowshed. I saw Xiao Yue talking to someone from the cowshed last time."

Someone immediately retorted, "So what if she talked to someone from the cowshed? She's not the only one in the village who's spoken to them. Besides, they were sent down here, and if they draw blueprints for our brigade, doesn't that show we've reformed them well? What are you trying to say?"

"Hey, I was just saying, I didn't mean anything!"

...

The commune members chatted on, quickly drifting to other topics, not noticing a few educated youth standing nearby with sour expressions.

"These brigade people are crazy. They're so lenient with those bad elements sent down, but toward us educated youth, who came to support rural construction, they're all scowls and frowns," Zhang Ying said indignantly.

Xu Zilei glanced at the nearby commune members and advised her, "Forget it, say less. If they hear you, they'll look at us even more unfavorably."

Zhang Ying’s lips twitched, but she bit her tongue and kept quiet.

Out in the field, Shen Zhenxing, Carpenter Song, Old Liu, Zhao Yongjun, and Shen Banyue—plus the four kids—all hitched the plow behind the oxen. This plow was bigger than the old one, so the brigade brought out both of their only two oxen. Once it was rigged up, Shen Zhenxing said, sounding worried, “Hope this thing doesn’t break the oxen.” These two oxen were the brigade’s most important assets.

Old Liu couldn’t stand anyone questioning the plow they’d built with their own hands: “How could it break the oxen? You’re standing right there watching, aren’t you? If the oxen can’t pull it, you’ll have to get in there and pull yourself, won’t you? Either way, the oxen won’t get tired.”

His sarcastic jab got everyone else laughing. Carpenter Song, noticing Shen Zhenxing’s sour face, quickly smoothed things over: “Old Liu’s always been like this, Brigade Leader—don’t take it personally. But I do think this plow’s sturdier and sharper than the old one. Even if we pushed it ourselves, it’d slice through the dirt like butter. With two oxen pulling, it’s a no-brainer.”

Shen Banyue jumped in: “Brigade Leader, there’s actually a way to save the oxen some work. We could scrounge up a scrap diesel engine, fix it, mount it, and tweak it. It’d plow even better than a tractor.”

Shen Zhenxing just cracked his whip and drove the oxen off.

He had zero interest in hearing this girl’s crazy ideas.

Old Liu chuckled and said, “Xiao Yue, you kids want to build your own tractor? That’s got some guts!”

He shot a look at Shen Zhenxing and dropped his voice: “The Brigade Leader’s an old fuddy-duddy. Getting him on board’s gonna be tough. But next time you need anything, just come to me. Old Liu will definitely help.”

Old Liu had spent his whole life patching up pots, always getting mocked for not being good enough to be a blacksmith and being stuck in the village messing with scrap metal. He was sore about it but had to admit he wasn’t much of a natural—until now, working with these kids to make this thing. He felt his back get a little straighter.

Carpenter Song chimed in with a grin: “And if I can lend a hand, just holler.”

While they were talking, Shen Zhenxing, steering the plow, had already gotten a good ways off. Zhao Yongjun, who’d been keeping an eye on him, suddenly said, “I think this plow’s a winner.”

Zhao Xuehai grabbed Shen Wendong and ran ahead. Father and son were on the same wavelength; right as Zhao Yongjun finished talking, Zhao Xuehai was already hopping and yelling: “Ahhh, we did it! The plow’s awesome, the oxen pull it easy! Whoa, we did it, we did it!”

Shen Wendong, usually as steady as an old party official, couldn’t help shouting too: “We did it! Xiao Yue, Xiao Mian, we made it!”

Their shouts brought the commune members watching from the ridge running into the field, jumping in like dumplings into a pot and charging toward the two oxen. Spooked by the crowd, the oxen picked up speed, and the plow cut through the dirt like tofu, flinging soil everywhere.

The old farmers’ eyes bugged out, faces beaming: “Man, this plow’s fast! In no time, it’s done more than we could dig in half a day. Think of the work it’ll save us!”

“And it plows deep, too. This is a real gem.”

“Our village kids are something else! And props to the folks in the ox shed, too.”

Everyone crowded around that plow like it was some rare treasure, checking it out nonstop. Someone even took over from Shen Zhenxing to give it a go, and after one try, they were all praise. Then more folks wanted a turn, and they plowed back and forth until they’d finished a whole field.

Finally, Shen Zhenxing, worried the oxen would wear out, unhitched the plow.

Shen Banyue, quick as a monkey, slipped through the crowd and sidled up to Shen Zhenxing, pressing her luck: “Uncle, this thing’s a beast, right? And it’s not just this. We’ve been talking about upgrading the bellows and the rice thresher, too. We can boost efficiency by at least twenty percent over the old stuff.”

Shen Zhenxing gave her a look and said, “That’d be nice.”

Shen Banyue pushed on: “So what about our plan—digging irrigation canals, building waterwheels, and putting up dams?”

“It’s fine to improve farm tools, but why push the village to dig canals, build waterwheels, and build dams?” Shen Zhenxing didn’t understand.

Shen Banyue got serious: “Uncle, water management is a project for the ages. It’s our duty in history.”

Shen Zhenxing: “…”

He was just an old farmer; history didn’t give him a damn responsibility.

“This isn’t something you can just decide on a whim,” Shen Zhenxing shot back.

“If we improve the tools, farming becomes easier and saves labor. Can’t we use that freed-up manpower for these projects?”

Shen Banyue tried to persuade him further, but Shen Zhenxing waved her off and drove the oxen away: “This isn’t something I can decide alone. Even if I brought it up for discussion, the other village cadres wouldn’t agree, and neither would the commune members.”

Shen Banyue thought to herself, Just say no and stop making excuses about the commune members. I know how much authority you have in this village. If you and Zhao Yongjun agree, that’s practically the whole Shen and Zhao families on board. Majority rules, and even if someone objects, it could still go through.

After a moment’s thought, she gritted her teeth and followed him: “What if we actually manage to build a tractor?”

Shen Zhenxing stopped in his tracks, turned to look at her, and even cracked a smile: “If you kids can really build a tractor, I’ll let you fly to the sky if you want. The commune members would carry you up there themselves.”

A tractor—something their brigade couldn’t afford even if they tightened their belts. They’d be willing to work extra or even eat less for it.

“And the material costs?”

Shen Banyue tried to haggle for some funds, but Shen Zhenxing waved her off: “No money.”

Shen Banyue: “…”

That was a pretty brazen way to be broke.

Fine, at least he’d agreed in principle.

The new plow kept the Xiaodun Brigade buzzing for days. So much so that on Friday evening, when Shen Guoqiang returned with Xiao Dizi on his bicycle, passing the fields, they saw several people gathered around plowing from a distance.

Xiao Dizi sat sideways on the front bar, her fluffy hair braided into two pigtails tied with bow-adorned hair ties. Her face still had a bit of baby fat, her big eyes bright and clear, cheeks flushed from the wind—adorable and innocent.

She blinked and asked Shen Guoqiang, “Dad, is farm work really busy lately? Are Grandpa and Grandma still in the fields?”

When she first went to Jiangcheng, she refused to call Shen Guoqiang and Lin Xiaohui “Dad” and “Mom,” saying that Sister Yue and Brother Mian didn’t either. But after a year or so, when she got sick and Lin Xiaohui cared for her day and night, only to collapse herself, Xiao Dizi blurted out “Mom” in panic and kept using it since.

Living in Jiangcheng for a few years, her memories of being kidnapped as a child had faded, and she no longer felt as insecure. But she still clung to Shen Banyue and Lin Mian like a fledgling to its first sight of life, always thinking of them no matter where she went.

Shen Guoqiang, out of farm work for years, wasn’t sure about new arrangements: “I don’t know either. Let’s go into the village and ask.”

They didn’t need to go far. Under the big camphor tree, the aunties eagerly filled them in.

Xiao Dizi gasped, “Wow, Sister and Brother are so amazing!”

Shen Guoqiang smiled: “Indeed.”

Father and daughter rode home along the village path. Before they reached the gate, Shen Banyue and Lin Mian were already walking out of the yard.

Shen Guoqiang braked, and Xiao Dizi couldn’t wait to jump off. He steadied her, and as soon as she was on the ground, she ran straight to Shen Banyue: “Sister!”

Shen Banyue scooped her up easily, and Xiao Dizi hugged her neck, laughing just like she did at age three.

Lin Mian patted her head, and Xiao Dizi smiled sweetly, calling out, “Brother Mian.”

The three kids happily walked into the yard, with Shen Guoqiang pushing the bike behind them.

Inside, Xiao Dizi slipped down from Shen Banyue’s arms and dashed into the kitchen, where soon her voice mingled with Wang Guizhi’s in lively chatter.

Shen Guoqiang went inside, put down his bag, and handed Shen Banyue a pack of cookies. She opened it, shared one with Lin Mian, and offered one to Shen Guoqiang.

“Did you kids make that new plow?” Shen Guoqiang asked, munching on a cookie. “You’re getting more and more capable.”

Shen Banyue blinked and grinned: “We want to be even more capable.”

Shen Guoqiang looked puzzled: “What do you mean?”

He thought for a moment and said, “You want to make something else? A rice thresher? I’ve heard some places are already producing diesel-powered threshers, much more advanced than ours. But they’re expensive and hard to build. There’s a pedal-operated thresher, though—not too complex. I heard our commune is considering importing one.”

Shen Banyue kept smiling: “We want to build a tractor.”

Shen Guoqiang’s face went blank, thinking he must have misheard: “What do you want to build?”

“A tractor.” Shen Banyue repeated firmly, then, under Shen Guoqiang’s “Are you crazy or talking in your sleep?” look, she explained, “We want to get a scrapped one and try to repair and modify it ourselves.”

Shen Guoqiang had a complicated expression. It sounded a bit more believable, but when he thought about it, not really.

Did these kids think a tractor was like one of those simple farm tools with hardly any parts?

A tractor had thousands of components. Even an engineer at a tractor factory wouldn’t say they could build one from scratch by themselves, let alone repair an old one. As for modification, that was even more of a fantasy.

Shen Guoqiang opened and closed his mouth a few times. He didn’t want to be too harsh and kill the kids’ enthusiasm, so after some deliberation, he found the most suitable excuse: “Even if you could find a scrapped machine, it wouldn’t be cheap. It could cost several hundred or even a thousand.”

He hoped the price would scare Shen Banyue off, but the little girl, not fazed at all, thumped her chest and said, “I have money.”

Shen Guoqiang: “...”

Author’s note:

The professional knowledge about farm tools, tractors, etc., in the text comes from the internet and may not be entirely accurate.