Courtyard House: After disbanding the Elderly Care Gang, I went to the countryside to cultivate immo

The thunderous cheers in the threshing ground lasted for a full quarter of an hour before gradually subsiding, turning into a deeper and more excited buzz of discussion.

Everyone's face was glowing, their eyes were shining, and their voices trembled as they spoke to each other.

"Nine hundred and thirty jin! My God! I've farmed all my life, and I never imagined that one mu of land could yield so much wheat!"

"I've never even thought about it, let alone heard of it! The older generation says that in a year with good weather, a harvest of 300 catties per mu is considered a bumper crop!"

"That's great! That's fantastic! If our whole village uses this wheat seed next year, how much grain will we harvest?"

"Dr. Lin is truly amazing! Those young educated youth also did a great job!"

People lingered around the gleaming golden haystacks, reluctant to leave.

The children excitedly chased and played in the open space next to the wheat pile, grabbing handfuls of plump wheat grains and letting them flow through their fingers like fine golden sand, making a crisp and pleasant rustling sound.

Hu Guangming sat on the ground, letting the tears flow for a while before haphazardly wiping his face with his rough hands, leaving behind several deeper stains.

He took several deep breaths of the wheat-scented air, as if trying to inhale all the heavy joy into his lungs.

Then, he supported himself on his knees and stood up with some difficulty.

Hu Guangming straightened up and slowly scanned every excited face in the room.

His eyes were no longer filled with tears, but instead became exceptionally bright and sharp, even carrying an almost pious solemnity.

He cleared his throat; though his voice was still a little hoarse, it carried clearly throughout the now quiet threshing ground.

"Fellow villagers!" he began, each word seeming to burst forth from his chest, "Today, our Heisonggou village has witnessed a miracle—a miracle achieved by our educated youth, who carved out this barren slope, pickaxe by pickaxe! What enabled us to have today's harvest?"

He paused, his gaze falling on Lin Shengli, who stood at the edge of the crowd, and the educated youth gathered around him: "It's all thanks to the good seeds brought by Comrade Lin Shengli! It's all thanks to us educated youth, who, unafraid of hardship or fatigue, planted and nurtured these good seeds with our sweat and blood!"

The crowd's attention then turned to Lin Shengli and his group.

Lin Shengli nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Li Kuiyong puffed out his chest, Jiang Yuanchao pushed up his glasses, Wei Jun smiled憨厚ly, Zhang Xiuying's face was full of undisguised pride, even Lin Mantong and Wang Xueling's eyes sparkled, and even Zhuang Hui, who was usually detached, seemed to be infected by the enthusiastic atmosphere and silently looked at the dazzling golden pile.

Ke Haoqian and Pan Qingzhi stood ramrod straight with serious expressions, but their clenched fists betrayed their inner turmoil.

"This wheat is growing well and yielding a plentiful harvest. It's a blessing for our entire village, and it's our hope for having enough to eat and eating well in the future!" Hu Guangming's voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable determination. "Therefore, I declare—"

The entire room fell silent; everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on Hu Guangming.

"Not a single grain of these 3,300-plus catties of wheat is to be given away!"

His resolute words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples.

As if anticipating everyone's reaction, Hu Guangming raised his hand and pressed it down forcefully to signal for silence, then continued in his hoarse yet highly penetrating voice:

"I know everyone is looking forward to the new wheat harvest, to grind some flour, steam some buns, make some dumplings, and satisfy their cravings! I want to too! More than anyone else, I want all the men, women, and children in our village to be able to eat this fragrant new wheat right away!"

His gaze deepened, as if piercing through the haystack before him and looking towards the distant future: "But, folks! As the old saying goes, 'Better to eat shit than eat the seed,' we can't just look at what we have to eat right now! We have to think about next year, the year after, and our descendants! Why is this wheat growing so well? The root of it lies in the seed! This seed is currently the best wheat seed in our village, in our country!"

He pointed to the pile of wheat, his fingers trembling slightly: "Every single grain of this wheat is more precious than gold! We've divided it up, eaten it, and ground it today—it's satisfying, it's delightful. But what about next year? The year after? What will we use to plant it? Are we really counting on Comrade Lin Shengli to get it again? This kind of opportunity is once in a lifetime!"

He looked around at everyone, his eyes earnest and resolute: "Therefore, I've decided that all of this wheat will be kept as seed for next year! Not a single grain will be left untouched, all of it will be used for seed! We must dry it completely, store it properly, and then sow it all in our best fields next spring! Let all the land in our Heisonggou Village grow such tall and strong wheat!"

"By then," Hu Guangming's tone became impassioned, as if he could already see that magnificent scene, "our entire village's wheat harvest will be as bountiful as this experimental field! Our threshing ground will be piled high with mountains of gold, ten or even a hundred times higher than this! Every household's grain bins will be overflowing! We'll have paid our share to the state, kept enough for the collective, and the rest will be ours alone! The children of Heisonggou Village will no longer have to anxiously await the New Year for a single grain of fine rice! We will let the whole commune and the whole county know that our Heisonggou Village has grown extraordinary grain!"

These words were like a fire, reigniting the regret and confusion that had just arisen in people's hearts due to the "failure to separate the wheat," and burning it into a more fervent and far-reaching expectation.

Yes, only thinking about what's in front of you is short-sighted! Passing on these miraculous seeds and turning all the land in the village into "experimental fields" is a good thing for generations to come!

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in applause and cheers that were even more enthusiastic and longer than before!

"Captain Hu is right!"

"Save the seed! Save all of them!"

"For an even greater harvest next year!"

"Let's be patient! We'll eat our fill next year!"

"I support the team's decision!"

The old men nodded vigorously, tapping their tobacco pipes on the soles of their shoes in agreement.

Although the women still longed for white flour buns, they all declared, "Saving off the seed is the priority! A steady supply is essential!"

The men, on the other hand, were eager to get started, as if they couldn't wait until next spring to make a big splash.

The children seemed to understand, but they clapped enthusiastically along with the adults, their little faces flushed with excitement.

Looking at the enthusiastic crowd before him, Hu Guangming knew that his decision had been understood and supported by the entire village, and his last bit of concern disappeared.

"Alright!" he shouted. "Since everyone agrees, it's settled then! This batch of wheat will be kept under the unified management of the team! Accountant and storekeeper, you two come up with the strictest regulations right now! Drying, storing, guarding—not a single mistake can be made! This is the lifeblood of our Heisonggou village, our capital to turn our lives around!"

"Don't worry, Captain!" Old Zhao, the storekeeper, immediately patted his chest and assured him, "I swear on my life, if even a single grain of wheat is missing, you can hold me responsible!"

The accountant quickly nodded: "I'll set up the accounts right away, record it separately, and store it in a dedicated warehouse. Nobody can touch it!"

Hu Guangming nodded in satisfaction. Finally, he turned his gaze back to Lin Shengli and the educated youth, his tone becoming extremely solemn, even with a hint of pleading: "Shengli, and all our educated youth comrades! You brought these seeds, you cultivated this land, and you planted this harvest with your own hands! I have decided to give all the educated youth comrades full work points this year."

Upon hearing Hu Guangming's words, not a single man, woman, or child in the entire village had any objections; in fact, they all felt that the amount given was too little.

But in this day and age, the village had nothing better to offer these heroes.

As the sun sets, it paints the threshing ground in a warm orange-red hue.

That small, yet significant, golden haystack seemed to gleam in the afterglow of the setting sun.

It is the flame of hope in the hearts of all the members of Heisonggou Village.