Back to 1978

Chapter 74: River Excavation
At the headquarters of Team 3, Xie Hushan rubbed his face vigorously as he stood in front of Ma Laowu and Yang Limin. His expression was even uglier than when he wrestled in the sand field right after the blind date.
"Counting Han Laogou, our brigade is equivalent to 20 production team leaders going to the commune to settle accounts. After so many days of making trouble, you were fooled like a fool. And you still think you got a big advantage? Keep making trouble with the commune. We have to have a fight!"

In fact, if it was simply that Han Laogou and Ma Laowu were fooled by the commune, Xie Hushan would definitely not be depressed. The main reason was that they were fooled this time, which seriously affected his own escape plan.

Just now, Ma Laowu called all members of the third team together and announced that this year, as Han Laogou and other production team leaders persisted in raising issues with the commune leaders, the commune finally decided to adjust the planned amount of harvest grain to be purchased by the Zhongping Production Brigade to 50% of the original amount.

In other words, if one originally had to sell 10,000 kilograms of bumper grain to the state, now one only needs to sell 5,000 kilograms, saving a full half of the grain, which can be kept in the granary of one's own brigade.

If this matter ended here, Xie Hushan would definitely feel happy from the bottom of his heart like all the members.

But how could the commune let the brigade take such a huge advantage? Such a big concession made by the other party was not without cost.

The price was that each of the 19 production teams under the Zhongping Production Brigade had to select 15 young and strong laborers to participate in the construction and expansion project of the Douzhuang Reservoir in Bingyang County, 70 or 80 miles away, during the slack farming season in autumn and winter.

In other words, Han Laogou and his team of twenty people, as the leaders of the production team, used nearly three hundred strong laborers to do heavy physical labor for three months, and finally the commune persuaded the county to halve the grain harvest target.

He was gone for three months, and when he came back to open a brick kiln, where could he find laborers to work? Even animals had to rest for a month after working on the river, not to mention humans.

"Also, Uncle Wu, I'm in the sideline job group now. Why should I go too? I didn't stop working in the sideline job group during the slack season." Xie Hushan looked at Ma Laowu who still looked like he had gotten a huge advantage, and felt that he had explained it clearly enough just now. How could the other party act like he had gotten an advantage even though he was fooled by the truth?

Ma Laowu didn't understand why Xie Hushan was so excited. He stuffed tobacco into his pipe and said:
"The state buys half less harvest grain from our brigade, isn't that a bargain for us? We go to work during the off-season. They say that if we go to work, the county will provide three meals a day. There are three hundred young men. Do you know how much grain our brigade eats when these people stay at home every day during the three or four months of off-season?"

"Also, you joined because of Baosheng's recommendation and Han Laogou's approval. Originally, Baosheng should have led the team, but he injured his leg during the autumn harvest and can't participate this year. They specifically asked you to lead the team. This is a chance for you to show your face and convince the others. If they want you to take over his job in the future, don't be so stubborn. The brigade is training you as a young reserve cadre!"

Xie Hushan smacked his lips. There were nearly three hundred strong laborers, ranging in age from twenty-five to eighteen, which was equivalent to mobilizing all the young people of working age in the Zhongping Production Brigade. After they went there, they even had to build their own shacks to sleep in, and were only provided with three meals a day. It was said that they were given work points, but in fact it was the production team they were in that paid the money.

I worked hard at the reservoir for three months and was able to earn ten work points every day, but these work points had nothing to do with the county. In the end, Zhongping Production Team 3 still had to settle accounts with these 300 people at the end of the year. Isn't this just paying the sheep for the wool?

It is equivalent to the county telling me that working for the country is not in vain, and I will be paid one dollar a day. When I finish my work and go home, I can go to my parents to collect this dollar!
In the end, these three hundred people actually took away part of the dividends that should have been distributed to other members of the team who did not work during the slack season.

And most importantly, the actual value of the heavy physical work done by 300 strong laborers in three months is definitely much greater than the half of the harvest grain that the commune exempted. "Uncle Wu, smoke mine, smoke mine." Seeing Ma Laowu filling his cigarette, Xie Hushan took out a cigarette, put it to Ma Laowu's mouth, struck a match to help him light it, and said with a smile.

Ma Laowu was a little uncomfortable with this kid's reaction. Ever since this little bastard started his side job, he has been showing off in front of him day by day. He even offered him a cigarette and lit his cigarette. How could he do that? If he wanted to ask him for money, Ma Laowu would have to pass him a cigarette and light it for him.

Why is it the other way around today?

"Can I not go? I have to strive to get ahead of the team, and I don't ask the team to train me. I will take care of our team's side business first..." Xie Hushan extinguished the match and asked tentatively.

When Ma Laowu heard that Xie Hushan didn't want to go, he glared and took the cigarette out of his mouth:

"No, if you can take over Baosheng's work one day, then our team three will have to show off! And the sideline group, if you can become a militia company commander in the future, you will have the final say in the commune's agricultural machinery station and power supply station. Who from other production teams dares to compete with our team three? They have to wait until our team uses up all the water, electricity, and machinery first, and then beg us to put them in second place. So I tell you, Hu Saner, you must go. Not only go, but also find a way to bring these 300 people to win honor for our team."

"As for me, I...I want to set up a brick kiln as a side job and I'm just planning on it. If I leave..." Xie Hushan frowned and tried to persuade Ma Laowu to change his mind.

Yang Limin stood by with a smile on his face, watching Xie Hushan begging Ma Laowu to replace him. He praised all of his childhood friends, from Han Laoer to Daxi, saying that they were better than him in terms of ideological awareness and revolutionary stance, and were more suitable to lead the team to open the river. Now he was praising Wu Shuanzi:
"Shuanzi is also good. He is a man who can do big things and has organizational skills. He can organize several old women to go to his fish pond to take a bath. He is not an ordinary person. He is warm-hearted and has a mass base. He is the most suitable person to lead the team. When he goes to work in the reservoir, he can also organize a group of women to go to the reservoir to take a bath, which will be a great scene for the young and old men who are working there."

"Don't talk nonsense to me. I'm telling you, Hu San'er, a sideline is always a sideline. It can never surpass the main business. You have to know this. Besides, it won't affect the two stew stalls if you leave. It's nothing more than you want to postpone the whole brick kiln business. So postpone it. Let's do the main business first." Ma Laowu said to Xie Hushan:

"If you really have the chance to become a team leader in our team, your uncle will be accused of being soft-hearted and two-faced? Who dares to bully the third team again?"

"Han Laoer is also fine. Han Laogou is actually Han Laoer's second uncle. He..." Xie Hushan was so anxious that he almost cried. It turned out that he was thinking of involving Lao Yang to speed up the process so that he might have a chance to spend the New Year in Hong Kong Island.

I have to lead a team to open the river. If the progress of the project is slow, I will have a hard time going back to the village for the New Year, let alone going to Hong Kong Island...

Yang Limin whispered a few words in Ma Laowu's ear. Ma Laowu thought for a moment, then patted his chest and looked at Xie Hushan:
"Don't you want to start a side business? Uncle Wu is telling you this. You lead the team to win honors. I'll let you run a brick kiln and a furniture factory. If the team wants to find fault with us and accuse us of being reckless, I'll take the blame!"

(End of this chapter)