Chapter 73

Chapter 73

As the saying goes, when you're in trouble, turn to the organization.

Shen Zhenxing, having served as brigade captain for many years, had almost zero experience reporting "innovative achievements" to leaders, but he had plenty of experience whining, playing up hardships, and begging for help.

He ate up the empty promises the leader fed him—like how after handing over the plow's materials and blueprints, they'd get rewards and compensation. On his way to the cowshed, he "happened to mention" this good news to every commune member he met along the way. The commune members then showered Director Gong with compliments, turning that "empty promise" into a real commitment from the commune to everyone.

Director Gong knew exactly what this "little move" meant, but he stayed good-natured, chatting casually with the folks.

After checking out the tractor, which had been taken apart into pieces, and the parts Shen Banyue had handcrafted, and listening to Shen Zhenxing go on and on about having no money, no tools, no materials, no experience, and no connections, Director Gong smiled and said the commune's funds were tight, so subsidies were tough, but they'd do their best to help with everything else.

So, a few days later, just as Shen Banyue and the others had finished fixing all the parts they could in the blacksmith shop, and the remaining parts—even though Shen Banyue had the skill—were too tricky to mess with, Cadre Xiao Ding took a trip to Xiaodun Brigade. He told them Director Gong had gotten in touch with the County Machinery Factory and arranged for them to bring the parts that couldn't be fixed at the blacksmith shop to the factory.

This era had a lot of things later generations criticized, but you can't deny it also created countless miracles.

In just twenty or thirty years, starting from nothing, they'd built atomic and hydrogen bombs using abacuses, built over half a million state-owned enterprises, laid over 20,000 kilometers of railway, constructed over a million kilometers of roads, and built over 80,000 reservoirs of various sizes... Later records also had legends of workers from this era "hand-crafting" all sorts of machines. While these couldn't hold a candle to the big achievements mentioned earlier, they were still mind-blowing miracles to later generations.

Shen Banyue and Lin Mian spent two weeks at the County Machinery Factory, where they saw firsthand the "hand-crafting" skills of the old-timers.

These skills came from necessity, driven by tech blockades and tough conditions.

When the leadership randomly brought two teenagers into the workshop as apprentices, the old-timers initially objected, thinking it was ridiculous. But soon, they realized these two kids weren't like ordinary kids.

The boy was incredibly sharp—tell him something once, and he'd remember it, even figuring out more on his own. Give him a pen and paper, and his sketches were as good as an engineer's. The girl was even more amazing: she learned to run the workshop's machines in no time, with steady hands, sharp eyes, and strong arms—a natural for a fitter, welder, or any trade.

Before long, the old-timers went from not wanting to take on these two young apprentices to fighting over the chance to bring them into their teams, even wanting to take them on as real apprentices.

"Xiao Shen, kids are growing—they can't just eat greens and radishes! Here, I bought some braised pork to build them up," said Master Fitter Yuan, setting a lunchbox in front of Shen Banyue and the others.

"I've used up my meat coupons for this month," Shen Guoqing said helplessly. "Master Yuan, it's not just radishes and greens—there's also scrambled eggs. The canteen's food has enough oil; this gives them plenty of nutrition." As the family member of a medical worker, he'd picked up a thing or two from Zhou Yaoyao over their years of marriage, knowing meat wasn't the only way to keep them healthy.

"You should take this meat home for your grandkids," Shen Guoqing urged.

Master Yuan's eyes went wide with anger. "Those useless grandkids get meat every month—missing one meal won't kill them! Xiao Yue and Xiao Mian have been working so hard lately; eggs alone won't do!"

"..."

Shen Guoqing had nothing to say to that.

Shen Banyue smiled sweetly. "Grandpa Yuan, why don't you sit down and eat with us? If we're working hard, you're working even harder—you should have something good to build yourself up too."

Master Yuan's heart melted at the innocent, kind smile of "Shen, the Little Oscar Winner." Even with his high rank, salary, and status at the factory, at home he was still tormented by mischievous kids—all boys, at that—so he'd never felt such comforting warmth from a "little cotton-padded jacket."

He sat down and opened another lunchbox.

Shen Banyue put a piece of braised pork in his lunchbox, then added a scoop of scrambled eggs. "Eat more."

Shen Guoqing watched in stunned amazement, thinking to himself how this little girl had gotten better at charming people as she grew up. No wonder she'd won over the Grade 5 and Grade 6 workers in the workshop in just a few days... Oh, and no wonder his own parents constantly talked about Xiao Yue and Xiao Mian, while he, their biological son, felt like he'd been picked up from the trash.

"You two will graduate from elementary school after the New Year, right? Your uncle's in the county town—why not come to the county for middle school? I know the principal of the county junior high; he'd definitely take good seedlings like you. The factory can arrange a separate dormitory for you two, so you don't have to share with several others—it won't affect your studies. When you have free time, come to the workshop to practice, and after graduation, come straight to work at the factory. How about that?" Master Yuan seized the chance to persuade the two kids.

As the factory's only Grade 6 fitter, securing a dormitory and apprentice slots for them was easy.

Shen Guoqing felt a pang of envy—he'd been working for years and still lived in a shared dorm, yet these two kids had people eager to arrange a private room for them.

"Right, right, Old Yuan usually talks nonsense, but today he's making a lot of sense. I think school's been chaotic lately, and you won't learn much. Better to stay at the factory and spend more time in the workshop. Start as apprentices now, and by the time you graduate middle school in a couple of years, you'll be regular workers—no time wasted," added Master Welder Xiang, shuffling over with two lunchboxes and sitting across from Master Yuan.

He set one lunchbox in front of Shen Banyue and Lin Mian. "Here, my wife made this and sent it over. Her fish stew is unbeatable—even the chefs at the state-run restaurant can't compare. Xiao Yue, Xiao Mian, try it!"

After a pause, he half-heartedly invited Shen Guoqing too. "Hey, Xiao Shen, you have some too."

Shen Guoqing: "..."

He understood—he was just an optional extra, and sitting with these two master craftsmen was only thanks to the kids.

After all, he was still just a lowly Grade 1 worker in the ordinary workshop, barely qualified to take the exam for Grade 2.

Master Yuan and Master Xiang took turns trying to persuade the two kids to stay as apprentices, subtly badmouthing each other while promoting themselves. Shen Banyue just kept smiling, occasionally serving food to one or praising the other's fish stew. Playing the innocent child, she said with wide eyes that she couldn't decide on her own—if her family agreed, she'd love to come back and learn more skills at the factory. By the end of the meal, she hadn't promised anything, yet she'd charmed both old men into high spirits.

Lin Mian was quieter around strangers, only saying, "I'll do whatever Sister Yue says," and nothing else worked.

Finally, the two master craftsmen reluctantly saw them off at the factory gate, watching as Shen Guoqing led the two kids back to Yunling Commune.

All the tractor parts had been repaired, and the kids needed to go back to assemble the tractor.

Some replacement parts had already been purchased from the Luoyang Tractor Factory and mailed to Yunling Commune a few days earlier. The three returned to the commune, picked up the parts, borrowed a mule cart, and headed back to Xiaodun Brigade.

The next day happened to be Sunday. The kids, along with Shen Guoqing—a Grade 1 worker—went to the cowshed to start assembling the tractor.

A month had passed, and the tractor, having gone from "whole to pieces," showed no signs of being fixed—it looked even more like scrap. The villagers had gone from initial excitement, to division, to disappointment, and now barely paid attention. Even when they heard Shen Banyue and Lin Mian had gone to "study" at the County Machinery Factory, most thought it was just kids' wishful thinking and assumed the Shen family had wasted their money.

So when some commune members saw the group heading to the cowshed, they didn't think much of it.

Only Shen Zhenxing had a rough idea of their progress. Throughout the day, he "sneaked away" from the fields five or six times to watch the assembly process, which he didn't understand at all.

After a full day's work, only half the tractor was assembled. The next day, Shen Guoqing returned to the county for work, while Shen Wendong and Zhao Xuehai went back to the commune for school, leaving the rest of the work to Shen Banyue and the others.

Nie Yuanbai had long figured out the tractor's structure, but he mostly stayed out of it, watching with his hands tucked in his sleeves.

In his view, even if he helped, he wouldn't be as quick as Shen Banyue. The girl seemed to have an extra knack for machinery—her speed in disassembling and assembling rivaled that of a master worker in a state-owned factory.

As for Lin Mian, his hands-on skills were rough, but his mind was sharp—he knew exactly where every screw belonged.

By the afternoon of the second day, the entire tractor was finally assembled. Several brigade cadres, including the women's director—whom Shen Banyue and the others rarely interacted with—came to the cowshed.

Their presence drew a crowd of women who usually gathered under the big camphor tree. More and more people gathered outside the cowshed, all surprised to see the tractor "back in one piece."

"Hey, they actually put the tractor back together? It looks pretty decent, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean 'looks decent'? I think it looks great—it was all beat-up before, but now it's almost like new, except for that worn-out trailer."

"I thought it was just going to be sold for scrap. These kids are impressive—they actually fixed it!"

"Hey, can it run now? Xiao Yue, you guys should try it out!"

...

The commune members got excited again, their enthusiasm for the tractor reignited. They were practically itching to jump over the fence and start it themselves.

But Shen Banyue spread her hands and said bluntly, "We don't know how to drive a tractor." She really didn't—this thing was so old it needed a hand crank to start, even more troublesome than the armored vehicles from the human base in her past life.

Of course, with a bit of study, she "could" figure it out, but there was no need. Fixing the tractor was already attention-grabbing enough; driving it should be left to someone else.

The brigade cadres exchanged glances, and Zhao Yongjun stepped forward. "I know how to drive a tractor."

He took the crank from Lin Mian, first pulled down the decompression lever, inserted the crank, and started turning it forcefully. But after cranking for a while, the tractor didn't respond at all.

Shen Banyue frowned.

Outside the fence, a heckler poured cold water on things: "Looks good, but that don't mean squat—getting it running's what matters. Fixing a machine ain't just takin' it apart and slappin' it back together."

Shen Zhenxing turned his head and scanned the crowd, furious: "What's your deal? You think you're the only one with a mouth? If it's that easy, why ain't you out there doin' it? Anyone else runnin' their mouth, you're on shit duty! You back off from real work a mile away, but you sure got a whole spiel of smart-ass comments."

Zhao Yongjun also glanced back but said nothing, pulled out the crank, stuck it back in, and tried again.

Nie Yuanbai, Lv Fang, and Xie Tingqin had snuck out of the cowshed at some point without anyone noticin', huddled by a pile of straw in the corner, frowning at the tractor in the yard.

"Is there still somethin' up with the engine?" Lv Fang whispered.

"I went over the whole machine—nothin's wrong. We even patched up a few little design flaws it had. In theory, this tractor should run smoother than any other one out there," Nie Yuanbai said softly.

But they both knew theory's one thing, reality's another.

The mood was pretty grim. After Shen Zhenxing's outburst, no one dared to make snide remarks, all quietly watching Zhao Yongjun crank the handle.

Shen Banyue piped up all of a sudden: "Hold up."

Zhao Yongjun stopped and turned to her.

Shen Banyue chuckled: "Uncle Zhao, looks like we forgot to put fuel in the machine."

Zhao Yongjun looked clueless at first, then it hit him, and he yelled: "What, no fuel?! How's it supposed to start without fuel—you kiddin' me?!"

Shen Zhenxing jumped to the kids' defense: "Aw, they were busy fixin' it and forgot—these things happen. Yongjun, you're strong and fast on that bike—get to the commune and grab a barrel of diesel, quick!"

The commune didn't have a gas station, of course; you had to apply for quotas and buy it from the state oil company. Their brigade didn't have a quota, naturally, but when you're in a jam, you go to the organization. Scroungin' a barrel from the higher-ups wasn't a big deal.

Zhao Yongjun nodded, dropped the crank, and took off, grabbed a bike from the brigade leader's place and pedaled like crazy to the commune.

The cold wind was howlin', but not a single person around the cowshed budged. Even the guy who'd been runnin' his mouth didn't leave, everyone waiting in place. Soon, more people came from the fields and the village, packin' the area around the cowshed solid.

Old Wang Guizhi and Shen Dechang didn't stand up front. They hung back in the crowd, tiptoein' to get a look.

"How 'bout we head into the cowshed? It's freezin' out here," Shen Dechang said softly.

Wang Guizhi shook her head right away: "With all these folks watchin', the kids got enough pressure. If we plant ourselves in front of 'em and it don't start, they'll lose face. We'll stay out here. If it fires up, we'll go in then; if it don't, we'll go home, kill a chicken, and make 'em some soup to perk 'em up."

Shen Dechang just nodded, shiverin', thinkin' to himself that standin' on this road was damn cold.

When Zhao Yongjun got back, he didn't just bring a barrel of diesel—he also brought Cadre Xiao Ding.

As soon as their bikes stopped, the commune members automatically cleared a path. Cadre Xiao Ding smiled: "Director Gong heard your tractor was fixed. He's busy in a meeting, so he sent me to check in and congratulate everyone."

As he followed Zhao Yongjun into the cowshed, a murmur rose from the crowd: "Great, if it doesn't start now, we'll lose face all the way to the commune."

As soon as the person finished speaking, they felt a chill down their back and couldn't help turning around, only to meet Wang Guizhi's icy glare. The person shuddered, quickly dodged aside, and dared not say another word.

If the brigade leader caught him, he'd just be sent to carry manure, but Wang Guizhi was different—she had a "track record." Two years ago, a gossipy woman said to someone, "Who would dare marry that girl Xiao Yue?" Wang Guizhi showed up at that woman's doorstep at dawn for three straight days, cursing until the woman's husband dragged her over to apologize.

Wang Guizhi glared at the person, then ignored him, standing on tiptoe to peer into the cowshed.

Zhao Yongjun poured the diesel into the fuel tank, pulled down the decompression lever again, inserted the crank, and soon the engine roared to life, the whole vehicle vibrating.

"It works, it works!"

"Oh my god, the tractor is really fixed!"

The old tractor's noise was deafening, but the cheers from the crowd nearly drowned out the engine.

It was truly fixed—their brigade had a tractor!

Zhao Yongjun held the tractor's steering wheel, carefully driving it out of the cowshed yard and onto the village road. A few young commune members chased after it, shouting: "Captain Zhao, drive slower, let us ride in the trailer!"

"Captain Zhao, take us to the commune for a spin, haha, let the other brigades see we've got a tractor!"

The aunties heard this and hurried after it: "Oh, Yongjun, take us along too!"

Wang Guizhi wiped the corner of her eye, smiling: "Oh my, how amazing are our Xiao Yue and Xiao Mian! These kids are so accomplished!"

Shen Dechang gave a simple smile, feeling his hands, frozen by the cold wind, suddenly warm up.

In the yard, Cadre Xiao Ding sniffed, enduring the smell of cow dung, and conveyed Director Gong's praise and congratulations to Shen Banyue and Lin Mian.

He also shared good news: the blueprints for the new plow had been submitted to the provincial level via the county leaders, and the province decided to promote the new plow across the region. Production would be assigned to the provincial capital's agricultural machinery factory.

"The factory has invited you to visit, and they'll likely pay a design fee. The province, city, and county will also give some rewards and subsidies. Of course, your brigade can continue making new plows for other brigades—that won't be affected," Cadre Xiao Ding said with a smile. "Also, the Provincial Daily has contacted the commune and will come down for a special feature interview soon."

From the moment the tractor roared to life, Shen Zhenxing had been so excited he looked ready to climb the mountain and set off a hundred firecrackers at the ancestral graves. If not for Cadre Xiao Ding's presence, he'd probably have joined the others chasing the tractor.

When Cadre Xiao Ding expressed congratulations, he only nodded absently, his eyes still fixed on the slowly departing tractor.

When Cadre Xiao Ding mentioned the new plow blueprints being handed to the province and the design fees and rewards from the factory and various levels, he was happy for the kids but didn't pay much attention.

When Cadre Xiao Ding said the brigade could keep making new plows for other brigades, Shen Zhenxing finally pulled his gaze back. Then he heard Cadre Xiao Ding mention the Provincial Daily's special feature interview.

Shen Zhenxing's eyes widened: "An interview—coming to our brigade for an interview?"

Cadre Xiao Ding smiled: "They'll definitely come to your brigade. Besides the new plow, you've got plenty of other things worth covering. Captain Shen, you can start preparing."

An interview—really coming to their brigade, and from the Provincial Daily!

He'd buy firecrackers tomorrow and go up the mountain tomorrow night to set off a thousand at the ancestral graves!