The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 327 The Special Envoy is Enraged, the Command Post Trembles
Under the big locust tree in Wangjiagou Production Brigade, Qian Jin took off his polyester shirt, leaving only his undershirt, revealing his sun-tanned arms and neck.

Before blending into the crowd, he said to the driver, Xiao Sun, "Xiao Sun, I'm going to chat with some fellow villagers. You stay here and keep an eye on the leaders."

He winked at the truck driver and followed him into the crowd of villagers waiting in line to get water from the delivery trucks.

The truck's huge blue water tank reflected the blazing sun, and the hose gushed clear well water, pouring it into all sorts of containers belonging to the commune members.

There were worn-out tin buckets, thick wooden barrels with iron rings, and even clean pickling jars.

Qian Jin approached an old man wearing a tattered straw hat and a patched white undershirt, then took out a crumpled pack of "Da Qianmen" cigarettes and handed it to him.

The old man squinted, carefully took the gift, lit it with the match Qian Jin had struck, took a deep drag, and squinted his eyes in satisfaction.

"Hey bro, what are you waiting in line for?" Qian Jin said in a city accent. "It's so hot, it's awful."

"Yes, yes," the old man said, exhaling smoke rings as he looked at the water jug.

"God has no eyes; the crops have all dried up like firewood. We're just relying on this little bit of water to survive."

Then he looked at Qian Jin suspiciously: "Your accent sounds like you're from out of town. What do you do, young man?"

Qian Jin casually pointed to the driver: "My brother and I are drivers who haul fertilizer for the county. Today I've been transferred here to work with him to deliver water to your brigade."

"I just passed by your Xiamapo area, and wow, what a scene! A bunch of people were blocking the road, complaining that they had no water, and staring longingly at our car as it drove towards you. The look in their eyes, tsk tsk, it gave me the creeps."

A middle-aged man next to him tugged at his vest, causing the four red characters "Safety in Production" printed on it to shake.

He interjected, "Xiamapo? Pshaw! Those poor bastards, stuck with that godforsaken hillside, their wells have long since dried up! How can they compare to our Wangjiagou?"

"What kind of life is this in Wangjiagou? No matter how dry the weather is, our team has no shortage of water."

The tone of his voice clearly conveyed a sense of superiority.

"Oh?" Qian Jin laughed, feigning surprise. "It's all within the territory of Xiaobieshui Commune, so dry it's practically steaming. What could be different? I just saw that the crops in your brigade have also withered and died."

The man in the red vest was clearly concerned with his image; he immediately raised his head.

"Yes, God is not giving farmers a good life, but it's not just us suffering from drought. I read in the newspaper that several provinces in the north are also experiencing drought and have no water to drink."

"At least our brigade has water to drink, if nothing else."

Qian Jin nodded in deep agreement:
"Indeed, I heard from my partner that you guys deliver water very frequently. The dispatcher said you've already made your third trip today. I really envy your team."

"People from Xiamapo say they're lucky if they can make it even once a day, and there's nothing they can do about blocking the road."

A woman wearing a floral-patterned polyester short-sleeved shirt came to fetch water with her child. She used a palm-leaf fan to swat flies at the child and said with a smirk:

"Driver, you're from out of town, you don't understand. Our Wangjiagou is different from those poor places like Shangmapo and Xiamapo. We've produced some remarkable people here!"

With a hint of pride that seemed out of place in her surroundings, she pointed towards the county town and said:
"The second son of the Wang family from our brigade is now Section Chief Wang at the county grain station. What does he do? He's in charge of grain!"

"Let me tell you, city people are all that, they just get government-subsidized grain rations. But the second son of the Wang family is an official in charge of government-subsidized grain rations!"

"He's the best. With him around, our brigade will not only be thirsty, but we'll also never go hungry."

Seeing that someone was responding to him, the man in the red vest quickly added, "That's right, those clods of dirt from Ermapo, their ancestors' graves didn't even emit auspicious smoke, how can they compare to us? They think they can get this good thing of delivering water? Dream on!"

Qian Jin shook his head with a smile, looking incredulous: "Really? Sister-in-law, brother, you're going too far with what you're saying."

“When I was arranging shifts at the county drought relief command center, I heard the cadres at the command center and the leaders of your commune all say that everyone should be treated equally and water should be delivered fairly. Drought relief is a major event, who would dare to make exceptions?”

This remark made several commune members who were fetching water nearby laugh.

The old man stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe, carefully tucked it into his undershirt pocket, and shook his head: "Young man, you're too young and inexperienced. What does 'treating everyone equally' mean? That's just something you say to those in power!"

"As the old saying goes, 'It's easy to be an official if you have connections in the court,' and the same goes for water."

"If no one speaks up for us, do you think that water jug ​​will turn the corner and run into this poor ditch? Dream on!"

He was wearing drab cloth shoes, and his toes twitched nervously at the holes in them.

Qian Jin handed out cigarettes to the others.

Someone took his cigarette and started blowing it: "That's right, even the commune leaders have to consider whose face to give when they speak."

"To tell you the truth, Section Chief Wang's position in our brigade is lucrative, and even the commune leaders have to treat him with deference. This water is a benefit that Section Chief Wang has secured for the villagers!"

Qian Jin suddenly realized, revealing a shrewd smile that reflected his understanding of worldly customs: "Oh, oh, I see, I see, so that's how it is."

"I knew it! Having connections in the court makes things easier. The old saying is true. My brothers and sisters-in-law, you are so lucky, so very lucky."

As he spoke, he patted the shoulder of a young man next to him, causing the young man's polyester shirt to shake violently.

The water was almost all drained, and the truck driver honked the horn twice to urge the commune members who were still collecting the last bit of water.

Qian Jin smiled and waved to everyone: "Alright, I've finished fetching the water, and I have to get going now. Thanks, brothers and sisters-in-law!"

He turned around, the forced smile on his face vanished instantly, and strode back to the jeep.

A shrewd member of the commune sensed something was wrong: "Isn't he a truck driver?"

"No, right? He just said he was a driver, probably driving a small car..."

"The guy driving the car—hiss, you guys are all so quick to talk, like a bunch of naked blabbermouths. These guys driving the cars are all the boss's confidants, are they here to pry into something...?"

When the car door was opened, several commune cadres inside were pale-faced and sweating profusely.

His gaze swept over them, and the cadres avoided his eyes, not daring to look at him.

Qian Jin plopped down in the car and slammed the door shut: "Go to Xiamapo, drive faster!"

Xiao Sun responded, and the jeep suddenly sped off.

The car entered the territory of Xiamapo Brigade.

The farmland looks much the same.

The large trees in the fields still have some green, but the small trees have long since withered, leaving only gray branches pointing to the sky, like desperate arms.

The ground in the farmland was cracked like a giant spider web, and large areas of the crops were withered and yellow. The wheat stalks were not flattened, but curled up as if they had been scorched by fire.

There's a water shortage!
As the jeep drove to the entrance of the village, Ma Congli pointed to a well with a windlass still standing there and said, "This well has sustained generations of people in Xiamapo. It has always had water as far back as I can remember, but it dried up a few days ago."

Qian Jin asked, "Was there water in it around 1960?"

The coastal region also suffered a severe drought during that period. Newspapers often described this year's drought as a "once-in-twenty-years event" because a major drought had also occurred around the 1960s.

Ma Congli blinked and said, "Back then, I didn't remember much—I started remembering things late, I was only ten years old."

The car stopped, and Qian went into the well to take a look.

The well was completely dried up, and the walls were covered with a thick layer of white alkaline scale.

He asked, "Have you tried drawing water from this well?"

Ma Congli said, "Definitely not. The well-drilling team came and dug two holes nearby, but there was no water at all."

Qian Jin nodded.

The villagers gathered at the village entrance, and when they saw the car arrive, they felt as if they had seen a savior, and they all crowded around it.

Whether elderly or children, everyone's lips were chapped and peeling, and several children were weakly crying out that they were thirsty...

The scene before me was more impactful than any report.

He immediately used the walkie-talkie he carried in the vehicle to contact the dispatch center: "This is Qian Jin. Immediately adjust the water trucks transporting water from Datong No. 2 water source to Xiaobie Water Commune. They will not go to Wangjiagou today. Instead, they will go to Xiamapo and Shangmapo!"

"Furthermore, notify the heads of drought relief work in each commune to come to the command post immediately for a meeting!"

"No matter the reason, you have to come to the meeting! The specific meeting time will be discussed with the top two leaders in the county. They need to attend. Tell them there is a notice regarding the appointment and removal of cadres!"

Putting down the walkie-talkie, Qian Jin looked at Ma Congli and said, "Captain Ma, the water will be here soon."

"But the issue of blocking roads must be dealt with according to discipline, regardless of the reason—I hope you understand, drought relief is a city-wide effort, and simply blocking roads won't solve the fundamental problem!"

"If all teams adopt this method to fetch water, it will create even more problems and troubles!"

Looking at Qian Jin's red-rimmed eyes and decisive command, Ma Congli, this tough man, also felt his eyes redden. He nodded vigorously:

"Commander Qian, whatever punishment you give me, I'll submit to you!"

He turned to the villagers who had gathered around him and said, "This was organized by me, Ma Congli, and it was also something I rashly initiated. I, Old Ma, will take full responsibility!"

“Commander Qian’s punishment of me is based on discipline and regulations, so no one is allowed to have any objections! Anyone who has a problem with him, I’ll beat them up when I get out!”

The members, who had initially been aggressive, suddenly felt helpless upon hearing this.

The heroes of the group have to suffer injustice.

This is an injustice suffered on behalf of all our own people!

Ma Congli was very good at handling things, and he even knew to bow to Qian Jin at the end.

Qian Jin grabbed him and said, "What do you mean, 'waiting for you to be released'? It's not like the command headquarters is going to arrest you and put you in jail."

“You blocked the road, but you didn’t damage the water delivery trucks, you didn’t hurt the water delivery workers, and you didn’t even steal water—go quickly prepare a self-criticism. You also have to go to the county meeting later, where you will have to make a profound self-criticism so that other grassroots cadres can take it as a warning!”

Ma Congli was completely bewildered: "Huh? They're not going to detain me either?"

Qian Jin said, "If you steal water, you should be detained. You only stopped the car to ask for justice. There's no reason to detain you."

Ma Congli burst into laughter: "Haha, damn it! The county command center has been emphasizing that during this special period, illegal and irregular activities must be dealt with severely. I thought I would be detained for blocking the road!"

Upon hearing this, Qian Jin quickly explained the situation, fearing that these rough men might become arrogant and extravagant because they had benefited from it.

He explained, "This is already a severe punishment. If you blocked the road on a normal day, you would only get a verbal reprimand at most."

"These are special times, so I have to go to the conference to make a self-criticism."

"Don't think you're safe just because you won't be detained. This kind of profound self-criticism is not easy to do!"

Ma Congli's happiness vanished instantly, and he said dejectedly, "That's right, I only studied in fourth grade, and I'm most afraid of those words, sigh!"

"Captain Ma, don't try to be smug after getting the benefits." A middle-aged man wearing glasses and a polyester shirt winked at him.

This is probably the principal or a teacher of the primary school in the brigade, and they obviously need to help him write a self-criticism.

Qian Jin pretended not to see it, then waved to the cadres from Xiaobieshui Commune who had come with him:
"Come on, let's go and take a look at the different production teams."

The local production brigade was formerly a large village with a large population. After the commune reform, in order to facilitate management, the large village was changed into a brigade and then divided into several production teams.

Therefore, the production teams stayed together.

The scene inside Xiamapo was much worse than that in Wangjiagou. This was mainly because Wangjiagou had a constant water supply, so agricultural production could not be carried out, but life was not affected and everything was still relatively orderly.

Wangjiagou has hope for water, but Xiamapo has no hope for water, so the air is filled with a suffocating atmosphere of despair.

The children in the team were no longer as mischievous as usual; they all stayed in the cool shade to escape the heat.

Their faces were dirty, their lips were cracked and bleeding, and when they saw the jeep, they just craned their necks to take a look, unlike before when they would definitely have surrounded it to touch and walk around.

We entered a courtyard.

An old man wearing a T-shirt whose original color was almost unrecognizable was laboriously using a gourd ladle with a chipped edge to scoop a small spoonful of murky water from a broken wooden bucket and put it into a porcelain bowl to let it sit.

Seeing the brigade cadres arrive with strangers, he gave an awkward smile and asked, "You've come at the right time. We used the white pills the government gave us, but why hasn't the water become clear?"

Qian Jin explained, "Uncle, that water is for disinfection and sterilization. If we want it to become clear, we need to use another medicine, but medicine is three parts poison. We'd rather let it sit for a while and wait for the water to become clear than use medicine to make it settle."

He looked into the bucket next to the oxcart and saw only a shallow layer of yellowish liquid, with a thick layer of mud and sand at the bottom.

Hearing the voices, the neighbors all came to see.

The young men and strong men were shirtless, revealing their lean, dark chests.

The young women and girls were dressed in old clothes, their trousers rolled up to their knees, and they were barefoot, their feet covered in cracks and calluses.

When they visited other people's homes, they found that the clothes of all the villagers, regardless of age or gender, were patched upon patched, and the colors had faded.

Women from better-off families mostly wore old cloth shirts with floral or plain colors, but they were also barefoot or wore worn-out plastic sandals.

Upon learning that Qian Jin was the leader of the drought relief institute, they all cried to him, saying that they had no water to drink at home.

Qian Jin told the cadres to come to the front: "Take a good look, everyone, comrades."

The group could hear the sarcasm in his words and could only laugh awkwardly.

They don't need to see it.

In fact, they were all aware of the situation at Xiamapo.

Deep inside the production team, the air was filled with the pungent smell of livestock manure emanating from the extremely dry conditions.

The mud-brick houses along the way were low and dilapidated, with large patches of plaster peeling off the walls, revealing the mud bricks inside, and the cracks were clearly visible.

Every household had some dried wild vegetables or leaves drying in front of their doors.

Brigade leader Ma Congfeng said with a worried look, "Thankfully, the government gave an early warning, and the members of our brigade dug up wild vegetables in the spring to prepare, otherwise we would definitely be out of food now."

Qian Jin asked, "Is there no relief food?"

Ma Congfeng looked at the commune cadre with a puzzled expression.

One of the cadres hurriedly said, "Commander Qian, we haven't embezzled any public grain. According to regulations, the grain will only be distributed starting in July!"

Qian Jin said, "Let's discuss this further when we get back."

He pondered for a moment, then beckoned to Ma Congli: "Collect the wild vegetables your brigade has been drying for me, and I'll exchange them for grain on behalf of the command post."

"Considering that dried wild vegetables are light, let's exchange them for dry rations at a ratio of one to ten. One pound of dried wild vegetables will be exchanged for three pounds, no, five pounds of mixed coarse grains!"

Ma Congli was dumbfounded when he heard this: "Commander Qian, you must be wrong. One pound of mixed coarse grains for five pounds of dried wild vegetables, right?"

Then he shook his head: "That's not fair either. Who would trade? Five pounds of dried wild vegetables are enough to feed my family of five for two or three days, but a pound of coarse grains, even if cooked into porridge, isn't enough to feed my family for one meal."

Qian Jin said, "That's right, so it's one pound of dried wild vegetables for five pounds of mixed coarse grains!"

"That's the condition. Go and collect some dried wild vegetables for me." Ma Congli was still incredulous and asked again, "One pound of dried wild vegetables can really be exchanged for five pounds of coarse grains?"

This time he was asking Ma Congfeng and others.

Ma Congfeng was just as incredulous as him, his mouth agape and his eyes blinking rapidly.

very confused.

The commune cadres seized the opportunity to show off, saying one after another, "Yes, that's what Commander Qian said. You all hurry up and get the dried wild vegetables ready."

"One pound of dried wild vegetables can be exchanged for five pounds of coarse grains, that's for sure."

"Is Gao Xing deaf? Commander Qian is planning to have the grain depot bleed money to support you..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Qian Jin's face darkened again. "My grain exchange has nothing to do with the grain station. I'm exchanging grain from a small collective enterprise in our street in the city to exchange for wild vegetables."

"The grain depot matter, hmph!"

The misunderstanding caused the officials to fall silent.

They thought that Qian Jin, after learning that Section Chief Wang of Wangjiagou was abusing his power for personal gain, would make Section Chief Wang bleed money.

If that's the case, there's still room for maneuver.

But now it's clear that Qian Jin doesn't have that plan.

So……

Ma Congli had no such ulterior motives. After learning of Qian Jin's intentions, he excitedly ran to mobilize the entire brigade to collect dried wild vegetables.

In reality, there weren't many dried wild vegetables in the brigade.

Because of the drought in spring, wild vegetables did not grow well.

However, having suffered from the droughts of the past, people nowadays are frantically digging for wild vegetables after the government issued warnings, and they are very restrained in eating them, so they are able to gather some.

When they learned that a pound of dried wild vegetables could be exchanged for five pounds of real grain, they went crazy...

The group continued their tour of the main camp.

In the courtyards of several households, makeshift shacks were built with stones and broken planks. The chickens and ducks inside looked listless, and even their calls sounded weak and feeble.

Qian Jin even saw a emaciated old ox lying helplessly under the shade of a tree, its tongue lolling out, panting rapidly, its belly terribly shrunken.

Upon seeing this, his expression changed, and he couldn't help but yell at the commune cadres, "This ox has nothing left to chew!"

"Damn it, the livestock in this brigade are about to die of thirst, and you're still sending water to Wangjiagou?"

He was genuinely furious: "You, all of you, I fucking thought too highly of you!"

"I should have known long ago that there were corrupt officials in the ranks!"

The commune cadres, feeling wronged, exclaimed, "We didn't!"

"No, I'm not."

"We did follow the rules..."

Ignoring them, Qian Jin strode into a house. The main room was dimly lit and unbearably hot.

This family was even poorer; it would be accurate to say their home was bare, with only a dilapidated square table and a few patched-up benches on the dirt floor.

The only decorations were a few faded New Year pictures pasted on the wall, depicting chubby babies holding carp and founding fathers among the crowd.

In the corner was a water vat. Qian Jin walked over, lifted the lid, and saw that the bottom of the vat was only a layer of sticky, yellowish-green mud that smelled sour, with a few drowned flies floating on top.

These days it's so dry, even flies aren't having a good time.

An elderly woman, also dressed in patched clothes, hunched over and leaning against the doorframe, looked at them with fear.

Qian Jin's fingers were clenched tightly, his nails almost digging into his palms.

He surveyed the heartbreaking scene, then glanced at the commune cadres behind him, his eyes revealing a resentment that surpassed even the way the commune members looked at them.

The cadres were pale and sweating profusely.

"You saw it all clearly?" Qian Jin gritted his teeth.

His voice was low and suppressed, carrying a fierce undercurrent.

No one dared to answer.

"Get in the car! Back to the command post!" Qian Jin turned around and strode out of the dilapidated courtyard.

The command post warehouse was still bustling with activity, but the atmosphere was even more somber than when Qian Jin had left.

Liu Changgui was anxiously shouting something into the phone when he saw Qian Jin stride in with a large group of people. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly hung up the phone to greet them.

As he got closer, he saw the commune cadres with their heads almost touching their crotches, and his heart pounded even harder.

He asked tentatively, "Commander Qian, you're back? Over at Xiamapo..."

"When will the cadres from each commune arrive? When will the meeting be held?" Qian Jin asked.

Liu Changgui said, "I told them to come before 1 p.m., and then we'll have a meeting at 2 p.m.

Qian Jin asked, "Why is there a one-hour gap in the middle?"

Liu Changgui explained, "Some commune cadres are slow and might be a few minutes or half a day late. We can't keep the top two leaders waiting, so the official meeting time has been delayed by an hour."

Qian Jin asked, "Do we have a lot of time right now?"

Liu Changgui was taken aback, and quickly said, "No, that's not true."

"Then tell the top two leaders to have a meeting at one o'clock, and anyone who is late will be demoted one level," Qian Jin said calmly.

Liu Changgui was shocked: "This..."

Qian Jin did not act arbitrarily. He explained, "I have already stated the importance of this meeting. If they dare to be late for such an important meeting, how can we expect them to handle such an urgent task as drought relief?"

"Oh, right, there's also Section Chief Wang at the county grain station? Call him over to the meeting too, so your top two leaders can see the good cadre you've promoted!"

Liu Changgui saw through Qian Jin's sinister intentions.

He didn't dare ask directly, so he took the opportunity to ask other cadres, "What's wrong?"

The cadres recounted the situation in detail, and Liu Changgui's eyes widened: "You sons of bitches! You really know how to cause trouble for my drought relief office!"

It's meal time.

The staff at the command post began to go to eat one after another.

Upon seeing this, Qian Jin said to Liu Changgui, "Keep all the cadres here, I'll treat you to dinner."

He then entrusted Ma Congli to a clerk: "Take this comrade to the canteen for a meal, and I'll pay for his share."

Liu Changgui hurriedly said, "Commander Qian, look at you, why make such a distinction? You come to our command post to direct the war effort, so it's only right that we provide you with meals."

"Logically, we should give you special treatment, but you always disagree and insist on eating in the canteen with the communal meals."

"In addition, there are comrades from these communes. They come to attend meetings, and it is only right that we treat them to a meal when it is mealtime."

Qian Jin listened patiently to him finish speaking, and finally said, "Food is precious now, so there's no such thing as 'should' or 'shouldn't'."

"Anyway, I'm in charge of lunch for all the leaders and cadres today, so don't worry, the dishes have already been sent to the kitchen and will be delivered shortly."

The wait wasn't long.

After all, he was treating the kitchen to wild vegetable soup, and he had taught them how to make it; it was very quick and easy.

However, the sun was high in the sky, and it was already noon.

The noise in the command post warehouse subsided slightly, leaving only the occasional ringing of telephones and the hushed chatter of the leaders.

Just then, two handymen wearing white aprons stained with oil carried a large, steaming white metal bucket into the room, panting heavily.

"Commander Qian, the lunch you arranged is here!" a handyman called out, wiping his sweat as he put down the bucket.

Qian Jin was talking to Liu Changgui in a low voice. When he heard this, he looked up and the seriousness on his face eased a little.

He patted Liu Changgui on the shoulder to signal him to wait a moment, then stood up and said loudly, "Come on, comrades, you've worked hard. Put down what you're doing and let's eat! It's my treat today!"

His voice was loud and clear, drawing the attention of everyone.

Everyone has been busy all morning, attending meetings, going to the countryside, and handling urgent matters; their stomachs are already rumbling.

Upon hearing that dinner was served, their faces lit up with anticipation, and they all gathered around.

Several cadres from Xiaobieshui Commune, though still terrified by Qian Jin's ruthless methods, mingled among the crowd, peering around.

However, they had a pretty good idea of ​​what Qian Jin was going to treat them to.

But they dare not say it.

The large iron drum was covered with a lid.

One leader complained, "Why are you covering it with a lid on in this heat? What's stewing inside?"

Someone joked optimistically, "Could it be that they stewed a whole pig?"

The handyman explained, "Boss, we know it's hot, but we can't just cover it up. Some vegetables are so dry that just stewing them in the pot isn't enough; they need to be simmered to soften them."

"Could it be stewed beef?" One of the leaders' eyes lit up.

The lid is lifted, and the answer is revealed.

The hot air shot upwards like a cannonball, and an indescribable smell instantly filled the air.

It wasn't the usual aroma of oil, salt, and rice; rather, it was an extremely light flavor, yet with a strong astringent and earthy smell.

Everyone stared at it, dumbfounded.

A pot full of a thin, dark greenish-yellow porridge...

Calling it porridge is a far-fetched description.

In the murky soup, various wild vegetables that had been dried and then rehydrated were clearly visible.

Most leading cadres these days have rural life experience, so they quickly recognized many varieties of wild vegetables:

There were slender lamb's quarters, shepherd's purse leaves with curled and blackened edges, dried purslane stems with a darker color and obvious woodiness, and even a few withered radish leaves mixed in.

The only decent thing in there was probably the mixed cornmeal.

It wasn't even cornmeal; it was corn kernels ground into coarse mortar. In Northeast China, this would be called wild vegetable coarse porridge.

However, the coarse cornmeal was too rough, and when mixed sparsely with these dried wild vegetables, it couldn't harmonize their flavors at all.

The whole pot of food looked completely dry, with only a very small amount of white foam bubbling on the surface.

"What is this?" someone couldn't help but mutter, their voice full of disappointment.

Liu Changgui glanced at it and subconsciously swallowed.

It's not because I'm greedy.

It was fear!
Qian Jin smiled and greeted everyone, "Come on, come on, it's my treat today, everyone please don't be shy."

"Give me your spoon. I see everyone has prepared their lunchboxes. Great, come on, everyone, line up."

He picked up a large enamel spoon brought from the canteen, scooped up a full spoonful with a splash, and waved to the cadres who were crowding at the front:

"Section Chief Sun, come quick! What's wrong? Are you still embarrassed?"

"Give it to me!"

He snatched the aluminum lunchbox and said menacingly, "In this year of severe drought, food is precious. Comrades, don't worry about not having enough food. Eat as much as you want. I'll make sure there's enough for you today."

"But if anyone dares to waste food, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll report it to headquarters and have Commander Han punish you!"

He scraped the spoon against the aluminum lunchbox, producing a harsh scraping sound.

Someone got scared and quickly said, "Money's got me covered, I'm not hungry..."

"You're being polite with me, aren't you?" Qian Jin sneered at him.

Just then, a loud laugh rang out from outside the door: "Dear leaders, I'm late, I'm so sorry..."

A chubby middle-aged man strode in.

He learned from Sister Feng, his voice arriving before he does.

Qian Jin glanced at him and smiled: "Where's Section Chief Wang from the grain station?"

Liu Changgui said, "Yes."

Section Chief Wang rushed towards him, extending his hand: "Commander Qian? Oh, hello, hello! I've finally met you! Seeing is believing, you—uh, what is this?"

He squeezed through the crowd and saw the wild vegetable soup in the large iron barrel. He was completely bewildered: "No, no way? Leaders, is this... is this a 'bitter-remembering-the-sweet-smells' lunch today?"

Qian Jin pointed to the corner: "What we eat is none of your business. You can just stand there and wait."

Wang Erpangzi was dumbfounded.

what?
Didn't you call me here to have lunch together?

Am I not here to attend the meeting for the distribution of disaster relief grain that will begin next month?
He looked at Liu Changgui with a puzzled expression, but Liu Changgui didn't look at him.

He then looked at several cadres from Xiaobieshui Commune.

These acquaintances looked mournful; some winked at him, while others shook their heads at him.

His heart sank.

Something is wrong!
(End of this chapter)