The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 182 Director Qian Goes to the Xiping Brigade in the Countryside to Do Practical Things

The next day, as soon as the rooster crowed for the first time, Old Zhou got up.

He changed into the woolen Zhongshan suit he only wore during the Chinese New Year and looked at himself in the half-torn mirror again and again.

His wife asked him, "Why are you leaving so early?"

Old Zhou explained, "Director Qian wants to help our brigade, so it's better if we wait for him. We can't keep him waiting."

The daughter-in-law said, "Sun Ming came to deliver oil yesterday, and I heard him mention this Director Qian. He said Director Qian is a good person and a good official, not a petty and narrow-minded person like Ma Defu..."

"Hey, why are you talking so much nonsense?" Old Zhou said impatiently. "No matter who Director Qian is, we can't keep him waiting. It's a matter of courtesy and propriety!"

"Alright, stop talking. Go and kill the old hen at home. We need to stew chicken for Director Qian for lunch."

The wife felt sorry for the chicken and muttered, "What a good chicken! It lays an egg every day since Grain Rain. It's our family's egg bank, and you killed it..."

"Oh dear, my dear sister, be generous! Director Qian treated me to chicken and pork ribs yesterday!" Old Zhou said anxiously, patting his trouser leg.

As he spoke, he reminisced, "The chicken yesterday was stir-fried with chili peppers. We've never tasted anything like it before. It was both spicy and fragrant. Director Qian's wife is such a good cook. She really managed to render out all the chicken fat. It smelled amazing."

The wife pouted, "How can it taste as good as the chicken I stew? You're just craving chicken? I don't even want to talk about you, you're just craving someone else's wife..."

Old Zhou rolled his eyes in anger.

I'm almost fifty and I'm fucking thinking about my boss's wife?
Am I trying to die too slowly?
Although his wife always bickered with him, she loved him from the bottom of her heart. Before he left, she put two boiled eggs in his pocket: "Have something to eat on the way."

As dawn broke, Lao Zhou set off with tractor driver Zhou Linchen.

The mountain road was wet in the morning mist, and the tractor's headlights drew two dim yellow beams through the fog.

"Uncle Zhou, is Director Qian really going to build a dual-service store for us?" Zhou Linchen's hands trembled slightly with excitement as he gripped the steering wheel. "Then we won't have to go all the way to Changgou Production Brigade to buy salt and matches anymore?"

Looking at the sky gradually brightening in the distance, Old Zhou smiled and said, "Yes, Director Qian is a man of his word. If he says he can help us, then he definitely can."

Then he added, "Drive faster! We need to get there before the supply and marketing cooperative opens; we can't keep Director Qian waiting!"

The heavy rain the day before yesterday washed the mountain road into a muddy mess, making it difficult for the tractor to move quickly.

They hurried along, and by the time they arrived at the commune, the entrance to the supply and marketing cooperative was already bustling with activity.

Today, the county supply and marketing cooperative delivered goods again. Several porters in blue overalls were unloading fertilizer from the truck, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of urea.

Zhou Linchen looked closely and exclaimed, "Oh my, it's Station Chief Li from the medical station and Station Chief Wei from the recycling station! Why are they working as porters? Aren't they supposed to be getting labor from the various brigades?"

"Wow, there's Cao Lihua from the food shop too. Cao Lihua actually does this kind of work?"

Old Zhou chuckled: "With Director Qian in charge, their good days are over."

He immediately spotted Qian Jin standing at the door, talking to the driver.

The drivers at the supply and marketing cooperative held a very high status, even higher than Zhao Dazhu and Jin Hai, far surpassing the temporary workers like Li Weiguo.

In the past, when the driver came, even Director Ma Defu had to be served good cigarettes and tea.

After all, the supply and marketing cooperative is a good organization, and being a driver is a good job. With these two factors combined, the status of the county supply and marketing cooperative's transport drivers becomes unique.

Old Zhou had seen the way the transport drivers came to the commune a few times. They would either lazily smoke in their trucks or sit with their legs crossed in Ma Defu's office, always looking leisurely.

But today is different.

Today, the truck driver stood in front of Qian Jin like a primary school student. Qian Jin offered him a cigarette, but although he took it, he didn't dare to light it and just kept smiling.

The transport driver was an employee of the Warehousing and Transportation Department of the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative. He and Qian Jin were in the same department.

This way, he understands Qian Jin's abilities better than others.

Everyone in the warehousing and transportation department of the municipal supply and marketing cooperative knew that Qian Jin was a confidant of Minister Yang Shengzhang. Not to mention a transportation driver from a county supply and marketing cooperative, even the captain of the municipal transportation brigade had to bow down to Qian Jin.

Qian Jin's conversation with the driver wasn't just idle chatter; it was about serious business.

Yang Shengzhang was transferred.

Two days ago, he bypassed the provincial headquarters and was directly transferred to the central headquarters. The county transport driver could not possibly know his specific position; he only knew that he was being given an important position.

"Director Qian!"

A cry arose.

Qian Jin looked over upon hearing the sound.

Old Zhou jogged over and almost tripped over the hemp rope on the ground.

Today, Qian Jin changed into a clean blue work uniform, with a Party member badge and a leader badge pinned to his chest, and wore simple cloth shoes, clearly ready to go to the countryside.

When the person in charge arrived, Qian Jin patted the driver on the shoulder and said, "I have to go to the countryside for research today. I'll leave the unloading here to you. I'll treat you to a good drink later."

The transport driver honestly replied, "Director Qian, please go ahead with your work. I'll keep an eye on things here for you, and there won't be a single problem."

Qian Jin nodded and greeted Old Zhou: "Accountant Zhou, you've come at the perfect time."

He pointed to a pile of supplies behind him: "These were just moved out of the warehouse this morning. They're all agricultural support supplies prepared for Xiping. Can you take a look?"

Looking at the scene before him, Old Zhou felt as if his throat was stuffed with cotton:
Twenty bags of flour and rice were neatly stacked together, next to five buckets of vegetable oil, two boxes of salt and MSG and other seasonings. There were also some boxes piled up at the very edge, which looked like they contained biscuits and other snacks.

These were all high-quality items that the villagers in their brigade rarely had access to on a regular basis.

"This...this is too much, Director Qian, isn't it?" Old Zhou felt his throat go dry.

He is not an easily moved person, but when he is with Qian Jin, he is always moved by the other's actions.

Sincere feelings are the most touching.

“Not much,” Qian Jin said with a smile. “First, Ma Defu owes Xiping something in the past, and we have to make up for it slowly.”

"Secondly, this time I secured sponsorship from the city, and I only followed the rules, not personal connections."

"The supplies are sponsored for families receiving the five guarantees and families of martyrs and soldiers. Your brigade has the most such families, so you receive the most supplies."

Qian Jin began loading goods onto the tractor.

Old Zhou glared at Zhou Linchen sitting on the tractor and yelled, "Are you a city leader? Director Qian made the move, and you were just watching from up there?"

Zhou Linchen was stunned: "Why would Director Qian do it himself? Holy crap, holy crap!"

Jin Hai saw this and quickly came over to work, working even more diligently.

Old Zhou snatched the bag from his hand: "Guardian Jin, you take a break, you take a break, this is our team's job..."

Jin Hai lowered his voice: "What's the difference between your brigade and our unit? This is all work we're supposed to do."

"Director Qian held a general meeting last night, calling in everyone from the secondary distribution stations. He said that anyone who dares to make things difficult for members again will be dismissed."

"He also said that he would put up a suggestion box at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative in the future, and anyone who has opinions about the work of anyone in our supply and marketing cooperative can raise them, and he will investigate and hold them accountable immediately."

"Those who should be dismissed will be dismissed, and those who should be disciplined will be disciplined. There will be no leniency."

"If he made a mistake himself, he would write a self-criticism to his superiors and request disciplinary action!"

As he spoke, he gestured towards Qian Jin with his lip, his voice even lower: "Director Qian's spit is a sign of his resolve; he's serious about dealing with us."

After the goods were loaded, Qian Jin came over and said, "Old Zhou, shall we set off?"

He pointed to the tractor bed: "I'll ride in your tractor and see how spring plowing is going along the way."

Old Zhou took off his clothes and placed them on the urea bag.

Qian Jin had already found a corner and sat down on the metal sheet in the truck bed, leaning his back against the stacked urea bags.

Last night almost killed me.

My lower back hurts.

The mountain road was muddy and slippery after the rain, and the tractor chugged along, panting heavily as it climbed towards Xiping Brigade.

The mountain breeze, carrying the earthy sweetness, wafted towards us, while the distant mountains were still shrouded in a thin mist, like a young girl still half-awake, draped in a light veil.

On the sunny hillside, wild apricot blossoms are in full bloom, their pink and white petals still glistening with raindrops from last night, sparkling in the morning light.

The mountain stream had risen, rushing and splashing against the pebbles. Several sparrows were startled from the bushes, their wings brushing against the newly sprouted leaves, shaking off a string of water droplets.

As the tractor entered the mountains, the road became more difficult, but the scenery became even more beautiful.

Qian Jin took a deep breath; the air was filled with the fresh scent of pine needles and humus.

As the tractor rounded a bend in the mountain valley, the entire terraced field suddenly came into view.

The layers of ridges resemble the fingerprints of the earth, and the newly sprouted wheat seedlings ripple with fine waves in the wind.

Qian Jin knew he wasn't there for a spring outing, but for research, so he paid attention to the condition of the fields as soon as Yamada appeared.

The fields in Xiping are even more barren than I imagined.

As the tractor drove over a slope, Qian Jin saw that the fields were divided into small, fragmented plots, with villagers bending over to plant seeds on some tiny plots.

The exposed loess soil stood out like patches against the lush green hills, and a few skinny old oxen slowly chewed on the newly sprouted grass on the ridges of the fields.

"Director Qian, we're almost at the brigade headquarters," Zhou Linchen, who was driving the tractor, pointed into the distance.

Houses began to appear on both sides of the dirt road through the mountains.

The houses are very simple and even dilapidated. They are usually a gray-tiled house surrounded by stone walls on a hillside, with the side rooms mostly made of wood and built very small.

Xiping Mountain has beautiful scenery, but it is mostly covered with shrubs and flowers, with not many trees.

The inability to convert shrubs and flowers into economic benefits has prevented local people from relying on the mountains for their livelihood.

Every household plants trees in front of and behind their houses—willows, poplars, old locust trees—and they all sprout tender buds and even grow green leaves.

Further away, a dozen or so commune members were weeding in the wheat field, their straw hats bobbing up and down in the green waves like floating lotus leaves.

The brigade headquarters was located on a flat area between two mountains. The tractor turned directly into the brigade headquarters' earthen yard. Then Qian Jin was stunned.

More than twenty children wearing red scarves lined up in two rows. The little girl at the front held a bunch of wildflowers in her hands—golden dandelions paired with purple February orchids, and tied with thatch into a crooked bow.

A burly man with graying hair and a wrinkled face led several cadres to quickly come forward.

Old Zhou introduced them: "That's our brigade leader Zhou Tiezhen, and that's our women's director Wang Xiaoying..."

Qian Jin nodded, inwardly sighing.

Zhou Tiezhen was indeed a tough guy, just as Jin Hai had said. He was only in his forties, which was evident from his physique; he walked with a powerful stride.

But looking at his face and his hair, he must be sixty years old!

Jin Hai once said that Zhou Tiezhen was a capable laborer, but not a good leader.

That assessment is correct.

"Welcome Director Qian to Xiping Production Brigade for guidance!"

Just as he was deep in thought, the children's clear voices rang out.

Qian Jin couldn't help but laugh out loud, almost choking on his own saliva.

He jumped off the tractor and pointed at the bunch of wildflowers: "Captain Zhou, what are you guys up to?"

A blush rose on Zhou Tiezhen's dark face.

He explained, "Director Qian, everyone heard you were coming and insisted on having a ceremony, but our brigade only has these resources. We don't have much experience, and we don't know what a ceremony should be like..."

Zhou Jiankang, the deputy captain behind him, quickly added, "The children went up the mountain to pick the flowers before dawn, so the flowers are very fresh!"

Qian Jin shook his head, took out a bottle of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, and lit it around.

He deliberately ignored the other cadres at first and turned to Old Zhou, saying:
“Accountant Zhou, I’ve heard that the people of Xiping are the toughest. The Japanese devils were tyrannical on the coast but didn’t dare to invade Yuezhou County because you have the Xiping Combat Team here.”

"After driving away the Japanese devils, the Nationalist army bullied the people everywhere, but they had to go around Xiping Mountain. The people of Xiping were not afraid of the Japanese devils or the Nationalist army."

“In previous years, Ma Defu eliminated dissidents and embezzled and accepted bribes in the commune. All the brigades bowed down to him, but your Xiping brigade did not give him gifts or flatter him.”

“I even heard that when Ma Defu came to inspect the area, you didn’t even offer him a drink of water, let alone invite him to dinner. Why are you putting on such formalities when it comes to me?”

The cadres winked at each other upon hearing this.

what does this mean?
Zhou Tiezhen honestly explained, "I gave him water to drink and also brewed some wild tea leaves from the mountains for him, but he didn't like it and said it tasted strange."

"Of course we didn't feed him. He said as soon as he arrived that we didn't need to prepare meals for him. He was there to work and brought his own work meal. Otherwise, we would have at least treated him to a home-cooked meal."

Upon hearing this, Qian Jin couldn't help but laugh again.

This captain is really straightforward.

However, in the 21st century, there is a term called low emotional intelligence.

He waved his hand with a laugh: "Did I say I was going to hold a welcoming ceremony for me? Aren't you just talking nonsense? Isn't this just trying to intimidate me?"

"No, there isn't!" Zhou Tiezhen raised his voice immediately upon hearing this, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

He said seriously, "We started this on our own initiative. Director Qian, you are different from Director Ma. As soon as you took office, you sent us urea and approved diesel. This time you are also here to implement the dual-generation store policy. You are different from them."

“These flowers…” He pointed to the wildflowers in the little girl’s hand that were starting to wilt, “Our commune members heard about what happened to you, and the children insisted on picking them themselves. They all say that Director Qian is a good person.”

Qian Jin squatted down and looked at the little girl holding the flowers at eye level.

Today's children lack the shrewdness and worldliness of 21st-century children.

They were all kids around ten years old, and their expressions and eyes looked rather silly.

Some of the children still had mud marks on their hands from picking wildflowers and digging for wild vegetables.

Qian Jin accepted the flowers and said, "I, as Director Qian, am just doing my job. I don't need you to send me flowers."

"But we can't waste the children's good intentions. Here, let me exchange this flower with you."

He pulled out a White Rabbit candy he had prepared from his pocket: "Two milk candies and two fruit candies for each person. Uncle thanks you for the flowers. Uncle will take them back to give to his girlfriend. She'll definitely like them."

"It'll be all wilted by then," Zhou Tiezhen chuckled.

The other cadres also laughed.

Qian Jin burst into laughter.

These people may all be good people who care about the members, but they do lack the wisdom to be leaders.

Old Zhou chuckled awkwardly.

As the accountant, he was already the most worldly-wise person among all the cadres in the brigade.

When the children saw the candy, the line immediately broke up.

A group of people gathered together, arms around each other, sharing candy, and then happily ran home to the distance.

On the distant hillside, the figures of the commune members, still bent over working, were silhouetted in varying shades in the spring sunshine.

The mountain wind blows across the wheat field, and now the wheat has grown tall, creating layers of green waves in the wind.

Qian Jin waved his hand: "Comrades, let's not stand here any longer. Let's have a short meeting to arrange today's work."

"It's getting late, we need to get to the meeting."

This threshing ground was also the brigade's threshing ground, where several old men were drying seeds.

When they saw the tractor arrive, they stood up to watch the excitement.

After hearing Qian Jin's words, as Qian Jin walked past them, an old man with a missing front tooth suddenly pulled out some roasted pumpkin seeds from his pocket and handed them over:
"Director Qian, have a taste, it's homemade!"

The sunflower seeds were still warm, small in size but very plump.

Women's Director Wang Xiaoying explained, "My fourth uncle was very good at growing pumpkins, but unfortunately Ma Defu saw it that year and said that he had to cut off the tail of that thing, so he pulled up all his pumpkin vines."

Qian Jin picked up a melon seed and put it in his mouth. The roasted melon seed kernel was fragrant and had a slightly bitter taste.

It's quite fragrant.

Ma Defu is really inhuman.

The meeting room of the Xiping Brigade Headquarters was a small mud-walled house with wooden lattice windows covered with paper.

Sunlight streamed obliquely through the wooden lattice windows, casting diamond-shaped patches of light on the mottled earthen surface.

Qian Jin sat at his chipped desk, his fingers lightly tapping the enamel mug on the surface. The mug contained steaming hot tea made with honeysuckle and licorice root slices.

It really doesn't taste very good.

However, he knew that soaking this thing in water was good for his health.

Zhou Tiezhen and the others sat down properly, each with a notebook spread out in front of them, quietly watching Qian Jin.

"Comrades," Qian Jin took a sip of water and cleared his throat, "I'm here today to conduct research and get things done, not to hold a meeting for you, so I won't waste any more time and let's get straight to the point."

"First of all, on behalf of the supply and marketing cooperative, I would like to apologize to everyone for the past shortcomings we have caused to Xiping."

This requires sincerity.

So his voice was loud and sounded particularly clear in the empty conference room.

The success shocked the cadres.

Zhou Tiezhen's rough fingers unconsciously rubbed the corner of the notebook pages, which were still covered with mud from spring plowing.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the women's director, Wang Xiaoying, interrupted him: "What are you saying, leader? What kind of leader apologizes to us?"

Qian Jin waved his hand: "Don't say anything, let me speak first."

"If you make a mistake, you should apologize. In feudal society, there was a saying that 'the emperor is subject to the same laws as commoners.' How can our new China, in this new era, be worse than feudal society?"

"But an apology is just a sentence, anyone can say it, and it's not very useful."

“If you really want to apologize, you have to show it through actions, which led to my second job in the countryside.”

"Let's go to each production team first. Accountant Zhou should have already told you that I got some sponsorship from the city to give some things to the elderly living alone and families of martyrs and soldiers in our team."

Qian Jin closed the document, then took out cigarettes from his pocket and handed them out to the cadres present.

At this moment, Zhou Tiezhen belatedly chuckled and said, "Our production brigade doesn't even have a single pack of cigarettes with filters. It's shameful."

Qian Jin said, "It's not shameful for the brigade headquarters to not have cigarettes and alcohol; it's commendable."

"It is truly shameful to fail to lead the people to a good life."

Zhou Tiezhen was a tough man, but he couldn't get angry at these words. Instead, he lowered his head obediently and said, "Yes, I really feel ashamed about this."

Qian Jin lit a match and handed it to him. Zhou Tiezhen was flattered and hurriedly reached out to protect the flame so he could light his cigarette.

His palms were large and thick, covered with calluses, and there was still some bluish-black dirt under his fingernails.

This man is indeed a good person and a hard worker, but he doesn't seem to be suitable to be a commander-in-chief; he's more suited to be a fierce general charging into battle.

Of course, this has nothing to do with him.

He was a cadre of the supply and marketing cooperative, not a cadre of the commune.

"Let's go." Qian Jin rolled up the sleeves of his Zhongshan suit to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms.

“We started driving tractors to the countryside, visiting the five-guarantee households starting from your first production team.”

"By the way, bring your scales. The sponsorship amount for each household is fixed, and we'll be weighing it on-site later."

(End of this chapter)