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The signboard of "Lao Mao's Hand-Grabbed Noodles" in Yinchuan rattled loudly in the sandstorm.

Inside the private room, Zhang Shucheng placed the fattest lamb ribs into Ma Defu's bowl.

"Try it, this is Yanchi Tan sheep, you can't taste this flavor outside of Ningxia."

Ma Defu took a bite, and the aroma of the oil immediately exploded in his mouth.

This was the first time in three years that he had eaten out properly. The meat juices were dripping down his chin, but he didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Eat slowly." Zhang Shucheng poured a cup of eight-treasure tea and pushed it towards him. "I'll be gone for two years, so I'm leaving Jintan Village to you."

Ma Defu quickly put down the bone and wiped his mouth with his sleeve: "Director Zhang, I... I'm afraid I can't bear this responsibility."

"What are you afraid of?" Zhang Shucheng pulled a worn-out notebook from his briefcase. "Here, my work bible."

On the notebook's title page, eight characters in calligraphy, written with powerful strokes, read: "Do good deeds and don't worry about the future."

The inner pages are densely filled with information about each village, poverty alleviation data, and personal reflections; some parts are even stained with tea.

Ma Defu carefully turned the pages, as if he were holding a wordless book.

On the last page, he saw a message circled in red: "The State Council has approved the implementation of East-West cooperation in poverty alleviation, with Fujian providing counterpart assistance to Ningxia and planning to build a Fujian-Ningxia demonstration village."

"Minning Village?" Ma Defu looked up. "Is it really going to be built?"

"It's a done deal!" Zhang Shucheng lowered his voice. "The first batch of Fujian officials on temporary assignment will arrive next week. You're lucky, kid, you've caught a good time!"

Ma Defu's heart was pounding.

He thought of his younger brother Ma Debao and Ga Wa's recent trip to Fujian, and of Suning's talk about labor export. Suddenly, he realized that the utility poles in Jintan Village not only brought electricity, but also connected him to a wider world.

As they parted, Zhang Shucheng gave the young man who had followed him for three years a tight hug: "Remember, being a cadre is like being a flock of sheep—"

He patted Ma Defu on the lower back, "You need to have two strong bones to support you!"

"After you leave, Director Zhang, who will become the director of the poverty alleviation office?"

"Suning! He has achieved quite a lot in the past two years."

"Indeed! Shuihua Catering and Shuihua Clothing have solved some problems for Xihai Gu."

"Alas! It's a pity that one or two large enterprises cannot solve all the problems in Xihai Gu."

"Director Zhang, I believe that Xihai Gu will get better and better in the future."

……

On the seventh day after returning to Jintan Village, Ma Defu was organizing materials at the village committee when the phone suddenly rang shrilly.

"Officer Ma!" Chief Wang of the police station said helplessly, "We've detained an officer from Fujian at the train station. Nobody can understand what he's saying. You need to come here right away!"

Ma Defu hopped on his bicycle and headed towards town.

Inside the police station, a young man wearing glasses was gesturing excitedly, rattling off words of Hokkien.

The police officer on duty looked bewildered and could only keep saying, "Please speak slowly."

"Hello! I am Ma Defu, the acting secretary of Jintan Village." Ma Defu stepped forward and introduced himself in Mandarin.

The young man, as if grasping at a lifeline, grabbed him: "Chen Jinshan! Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, serving as deputy county head on temporary assignment!"

His Mandarin had a heavy accent, but it was still understandable.

It turns out that Chen Jinshan bravely caught a thief on the train, but the thief stole the materials carried by the professor who was traveling with him.

To make matters worse, he missed the station while chasing after them, leaving his luggage on the train bound for Yinchuan.

"The most important thing is the data on Juncao grass!" Chen Jinshan said anxiously, sweat beading on his forehead. "The key technology for combating desertification!"

While translating and taking notes, Ma Defu suddenly noticed three teenagers crouching in the corner...

He was at most fifteen or sixteen years old, pale and thin, with bloody marks on his wrists from being rubbed raw by the handcuffs.

"Is it them?" Ma Defu asked the police officer.

"Yes, a kid from the immigration point. He said someone gave him ten dollars to steal the 'Southern Boss's' bag."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinshan immediately stood up: "They must be severely punished! How can this happen in a society governed by the rule of law..."

“County Chief Chen,” Ma Defu interrupted softly, pulling out a few dry, hard pieces of bread from his pocket, “this is all the ‘stolen goods’ we found on them.”

Chen Jinshan was stunned.

The bread slices were rough and black, clearly containing a large amount of bran, so bad that they wouldn't even be considered good for feeding pigs in Fujian.

“Their parents waited all winter at the resettlement site, only to find in the spring that the land they were allocated couldn’t be irrigated at all,” Ma Defu continued. “The three kids stole things to get fever-reducing medicine for their younger sister.”

The police station suddenly became eerily quiet.

Chen Jinshan opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

It was already late at night when the formalities were completed.

Ma Defu settled Chen Jinshan in the village committee's temporary dormitory, while he himself went to the resettlement site with a flashlight to return the person.

The three boys' mother knelt on the ground, expressing her gratitude profusely, and insisted on giving him two eggs.

Unable to refuse, Ma Defu turned around and quietly slipped the egg to the feverish little girl.

Back at the village committee, Chen Jinshan was still awake, reading documents by the light of a kerosene lamp.

Upon Ma Defu's return, he immediately asked, "Why would such a poor place have a large enterprise like the 'Shuihua Group'?"

Ma Defu was taken aback by the question: "This..."

“Actually, I heard about it in Fujian. It owns Northwest Flavors, Lanzhou Ramen, and Shaxian Snacks, a nationwide chain with a valuation of over 100 million yuan, and also has many garment factories.” Chen Jinshan flipped through the research materials. “Why didn’t it help lift the local area out of poverty?”

Ma Defu thought for a moment, then picked up the kerosene lamp: "County Magistrate Chen, I'll take you somewhere."

Although the immigration settlement was brightly lit, future survival remained a problem.

Ma Defu walked familiarly to a brick and tile house and gently called out, "Grandma Yang."

A rustling sound came from the room, and a hunched old woman poked her head out.

Ma Defu handed over the eggs: "Grandma Yang, has the child's fever gone down?"

"I've returned it, I've returned it." The old woman nodded repeatedly, then suddenly noticed Chen Jinshan, "And this is...?"

"The cadres from Fujian helped us solve the problem."

The old woman's cloudy eyes lit up, and she hurriedly ushered the two into the room.

The room was filled with junk, but the most conspicuous item was a red cloth bag, which was placed on the "bedside" like an offering—it was actually a broken wooden board.

"Grandma, what's in this bag...?" Chen Jinshan asked curiously.

The old woman suddenly became excited and hugged the cloth bag tightly: "The soil from my hometown! The soil from Yongquan Village!"

She opened the cloth bag with trembling hands, revealing dark brown soil inside. "I'll take this with me even in death!"

On the way back to the village committee, Chen Jinshan remained silent.

The night wind dispersed the floating clouds, revealing a sky full of stars.

"Do you understand?" Ma Defu broke the silence. "The Shuihua Group can indeed provide jobs, but it can't take away this homesickness. Many people would rather starve to death than leave their homes. And those garment factories mostly employ women, so it's impossible for them to benefit everyone in Xihai Gu."

Chen Jinshan looked up at the starry sky: "When I was doing research in Fujian, I found that 80% of the grassroots employees at 'Shuihua Catering' were from Ningxia. Don't they... miss home?"

“Yes, I do,” Ma Defu laughed. “That’s why Suning has set up a ‘Xihai Gu window’ in every store, specializing in selling hometown flavors. I heard they’re also planning to build a ‘Ningxia Village’ in Fujian soon.”

Chen Jinshan seemed to be deep in thought.

When the two returned to their dorm room, they found an envelope on their desk...

It was sent by the police station; some of Chen Jinshan's lost documents have been found.

"Great!" Chen Jinshan exclaimed, flipping through the documents as if they were priceless treasures. "The Juncao technology data is all here!"

Ma Defu was helping to tidy up the scattered papers when he suddenly noticed a document marked "Confidential": "Research Report on the Expansion Model of Shuihua Catering".

Someone had written a note in red pen in the margin: "Be wary of the impact of disorderly capital expansion on poverty alleviation efforts."

"What is this?" Ma Defu was about to ask when Chen Jinshan snatched the document and stuffed it into his bag.

"Get some rest." The Fujian official's attitude suddenly turned cold. "We need to go to the train station to pick up our luggage tomorrow."

In the latter half of the night, Ma Defu tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Outside the window, the wind howled endlessly across the Gobi Desert, like the lamentations of countless departed souls.

He recalled the words in Zhang Shucheng's notebook, the hunched backs of his fathers, and the bloodstains on the wrists of the three boys...

As dawn broke, Chen Jinshan developed a high fever.

Ma Defu used a folk remedy to lower his fever, brewing ginger soup and forcing him to drink it.

"Don't go to the train station today," Ma Defu advised.

"We have to go!" Chen Jinshan's face was flushed red from the fever, but he clutched the file box tightly. "Juncao... the sooner it's promoted... the less desert there will be..."

Ma Defu had no choice but to borrow a tractor and lay out a quilt for him to lie down on.

After a bumpy two-hour ride, they finally arrived at the train station.

Chen Jinshan's luggage was intact, and even the small refrigerator containing the bacteria was still running.

“Secretary Ma…” Chen Jinshan weakly pointed to the suitcase, “That blue folder… here you go…”

Ma Defu opened it and saw that it was the "Draft Plan for the Construction of Minning Village".

On the homepage photo, a desert area is labeled "Future Ecological Migration Demonstration Zone".

"Let's build it together..." Chen Jinshan said before falling into a deep sleep.

Ma Defu gazed at the bustling crowd on the platform: migrant workers carrying woven bags, businessmen in suits, and several elderly Hui people wearing white caps. The announcement was playing: "...Ticket boarding for train K1291 to Fuzhou is now open..."

In the distance, a red sun is rising slowly from the Gobi Desert horizon, illuminating the railway tracks with a gleaming light.

Ma Defu suddenly remembered what Su Ning had said: "On the other side of the railway tracks is the sea."

In spring, the story of mountains and seas meeting is just beginning.

……

At the symposium following the groundbreaking ceremony for the Minning Village in Xihai Gu, Chen Jinshan cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses.

"Fellow villagers, today we will focus on the optimal allocation of human resources." His Fujian-accented Mandarin echoed in the tent. "Through East-West labor cooperation, we can realize the value transformation of surplus labor..."

The more than thirty village representatives below the stage looked at each other in bewilderment.

Li Dayou nudged Ma Huanshui beside him: "Old Ma, what's this southern barbarian saying?"

Ma Hanshui, with a pipe in his mouth, shook his head and said, "It sounds like they're selling people."

Ma Defu quickly stood up to smooth things over: "County Chief Chen means to organize everyone to go to Fujian to work and earn money!"

"Oh—" Everyone suddenly realized, and the atmosphere immediately became lively.

Chen Jinshan wiped his sweat and continued with his grand plan: "We will establish a pre-job training mechanism to ensure that workers master basic skills..."

“He said he teaches skills at the factory!” Ma Defu translated loudly.

"Regarding salary and benefits, the guaranteed monthly income is no less than four hundred yuan..."

“I can earn four hundred a month!” Ma Defu’s voice was already a little hoarse.

Chen Jinshan, getting excited, waved his arms and said, "The most important thing is to broaden our horizons and change our mindset!"

Ma Defu hesitated, scratched his head, and suddenly had a brilliant idea: "A boy should go to the seaside to broaden his horizons, so he can come back and get a wife!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause and whistles erupted from inside the tent.

Several young men immediately clamored to sign up, but Li Dayou squatted in the corner and scoffed, "Running so far away, they wouldn't even know they'd been sold."

Just as Chen Jinshan was about to explain further, Wu Yuejuan's assistant rushed in and whispered a few words in his ear.

The capable female cadre from Fujian had no choice but to get up and take her leave: "The specific matters concerning labor export will be handled entirely by County Chief Chen."

She had barely left when the tent was pulled open.

Mai Miao barged in with a dozen or so girls, holding up several pieces of paper.

"County Chief Chen, why are you only hiring men?" She walked straight to the front and slammed the paper on the table. "These are my pay slips for the past three months at the Shuihua Garment Factory. I earned no less than any man in any of those months!"

Ma Defu recognized it as a pay slip from a garment factory under the Shuihua Group. After Mai Miao's name, it clearly stated: March salary 468 yuan.

Chen Jinshan was clearly taken aback by this turn of events; his glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose: "This lady, the work intensity in the electronics factory is high..."

"Which woman in Xihai Gu doesn't carry her child while farming?" Mai Miao retorted, "No matter how tiring it is working in the Fujian factory, can it be more tiring than harvesting wheat under the scorching sun?"

The tent was completely silent.

Ma Defu saw Ma Debao hiding behind the crowd, secretly giving Mai Miao a thumbs up.

Chen Jinshan looked down at the roster and suddenly pointed to a page: "But... Haiyue Garment Factory explicitly requires that female workers not exceed 20%."

“Then let’s go to another factory!” Mai Miao snatched the application form and tore it in half in front of everyone. “President Li Shuihua said that the Shuihua Group’s newly built garment factory in Putian is specifically recruiting female workers from Ningxia.”

These words exploded like a thunderclap in the tent.

The women chattered excitedly around the wheat seedlings, asking all sorts of questions, while the men wore complicated expressions...

I felt both offended and forced to admit that what she said made sense.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ma Defu pulled Chen Jinshan aside and said, "County Chief Chen, how about this: the male workers go with you to the electronics factory, and the female workers go to the clothing factory in Shuihua?"

Chen Jinshan adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses flickering uncertainly: "Secretary Ma, you're doing this..."

Before Ma Defu could answer, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

Li Dayou and his wife wrestled into the tent, followed by their eighteen-year-old daughter, Xiaofang.

"You dare! If my daughter goes to Fujian, I'll break her legs!" Li Dayou roared, his face red and his neck thick.

His wife, unusually assertive, retorted: "Try interrupting me! Do you want our daughter to end up like me, a haggard old woman?"

As she spoke, she pulled out her household registration booklet from her pocket, "Xiaofang, Mom is registering you!"

The farce ended with Li Dayi storming out in a fit of anger.

But Ma Defu noticed that his daughter, Xiao Fang, had secretly put her fingerprint on the registration form.

In the evening, while helping Chen Jinshan organize his registration materials, Ma Defu happened to glance at his notebook.

Next to a phone number, it read in haste, “Haiyue Electronics Factory—300 RMB commission per person,” followed by a question mark.

“County Chief Chen, this is…” Ma Defu pointed to the line of text.

Chen Jinshan snapped his notebook shut: "Nothing, just some work notes."

He changed the subject, "By the way, does Shuihua Catering really not charge agency fees when recruiting in Fujian?"

Ma Defu nodded: "Not only will they not accept it, they'll even cover the travel expenses. However..."

He hesitated for a moment, "We have to sign a three-year contract, and we'll have to pay compensation if we breach it."

"I see..." Chen Jinshan said thoughtfully. "Secretary Ma, what do you think of Li Shuihua?"

Ma Defu was taken aback by the question.

He thought of his childhood sweetheart, now an entrepreneur, and for a moment he didn't know how to evaluate her.

"She's a... very traditional woman, not very cunning, but she married a very complicated man," he finally replied.

Are you referring to Su Ning, the director of the poverty alleviation office?

“Yes! I’ve never understood Su Ning. If it weren’t for Su Ning, Li Shuihua would most likely be toiling in the fields like her ancestors.”

……

As night deepened, Ma Defu patrolled Jintan Village with a flashlight.

Passing by Teacher Bai's makeshift school, he saw that the lights were still on.

Pushing open the door, I found Mai Miao and Teacher Bai packing up their books.

"Maimiao, are you really sure?" Ma Defu asked Maimiao.

"Okay." Mai Miao didn't even look up. "We're going to the county to sign the contract tomorrow, and next week we'll go to Putian with the convoy."

Teacher Bai sighed: "These days, all the kids are running off to other places."

He pointed to the map on the wall, “Debao went to Xiamen, Maimiao went to Putian, Shuiwang went to Quanzhou… This classroom is almost empty.”

Ma Defu wanted to say something comforting, but found himself at a loss for words.

Mai Miao, however, raised her head, her eyes sparkling: "Dad, after I finish my training at the garment factory, I'll come back and open a cutting class!"

"There are garment factories in Xihai Gu! Why insist on going to Fujian?"

"The clothing styles in Xihai Gu are all geared towards the Northwest market, and at most they are sold to countries in Central Asia. But the clothing factories in Fujian have a variety of styles, and they are sold to Shanghai and Europe."

"..."

At dawn the next day, the three teams gathered in front of the monument in Minning Village.

Chen Jinshan led more than twenty young men to Fujian by train; Mai Miao and a dozen other girls took a chartered bus from Shuihua Catering to Yinchuan; while Teacher Bai stayed behind to continue managing his school, which had fewer and fewer students.

Ma Defu was busy checking the list and distributing dry food, like a worried old mother.

While he was helping Mai Miao pack her luggage, he secretly slipped a small cloth bag into her bag.

"What is it?" Mai Miao wanted to open it and see.

Ma Defu held her hand: "Open it when we get to Fujian."

As the sun rose, the convoy set off one after another.

Mai Miao waved frantically from the car window, constantly looking back towards her hometown.

Only Teacher Bai stood still, his shadow stretching long in the morning light, like an old jujube tree rooted in the Gobi Desert.

Back in his office, Ma Defu noticed that Chen Jinshan had left behind a file folder.

Upon opening it, I found a "Risk Assessment Report on Fujian-Ningxia Labor Cooperation," which analyzed the recruitment model of Shuihua Group in detail and concluded with a red-inked note: "Beware of enterprises monopolizing the labor market under the guise of poverty alleviation."

A list was also attached at the end of the document...

These were the girls who signed up for the Shuihua Garment Factory yesterday; each of them had their family situation and contact information written after their name.

The section on wheat seedlings specifically notes: "Education level: junior high school; from the same village as Li Shuihua, the owner of Shuihua Group."

Ma Defu's heart sank.

He recalled Chen Jinshan's meaningful question and the "rebate" records in his notebook, and suddenly understood something.

Outside the window, the last batch of buses departing were passing the newly erected Minning Village monument.

Amidst the swirling dust, Ma Defu seemed to see two completely different paths: one was government-led labor export, and the other was enterprises' spontaneous labor demand.

Caught in the middle are those young people who harbor dreams.

Springtime winds in Xihai Gu remain dry, but some people, carrying with them moist hopes, are already heading towards the sea.

...(End of chapter)