Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Gao Daya was woken up by An'an in the morning. By the time she opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.

Daya blushed a little. At home, she would get up early to do chores, but she didn't expect to be lazy at her cousin's house.

It's all because An'an's bed is too comfortable; there's a thick quilt under the mat, so soft and fluffy.

"Big Sister Daya, after breakfast I'll take you to play at the village entrance. Let me tell you, I have a friend who's really good at building mud houses. He can even build my house exactly like this, including my balcony."

"Oh? No way. My mother said I can't just eat your food for free. I have to help carry water and chop wood. I can't be a lazy girl."

"Fetch water? There's a mountain spring in my backyard!" An'an looked at Gao Daya, her eyes sparkling.

Daya blushed slightly, almost forgetting about it: "Then I'll chop wood and feed the chickens."

"My second brother has already chopped the firewood; feeding the chickens is my job."

Gao Daya blinked. No, what does An'an mean? She's just forcing herself to eat for free without doing any work.

Gao Daya dressed An'an, combed her hair, and took her downstairs for dinner. Then she saw Xiao Niangao sitting alone on the floor of the main room, petting Da Huang.

Big Yellow's mouth twitched slightly, but it remained tightly closed and did not open.

"Ouch, little rice cake, don't pull too hard, you've pulled all the dog hair out." An'an quickly stepped forward and picked up little rice cake.

The big yellow dog looks fierce, and An'an isn't used to it yet, afraid that the dog might hurt Xiao Nian Gao if it gets hurt.

"Auntie, yellow dog, play with me."

Little Rice Cake is speaking more and more clearly now, and it's obvious that she's complaining to An An. All the other dogs are avoiding her, and only the new dog, Big Yellow, plays with her.

"Alright, alright. Have you eaten yet?"

"I've eaten, my tummy is bulging." Little Rice Cake patted her tummy, then opened her arms to Gao Daya.

"Auntie Daya, hug me."

This is because they think An'an is too weak, and they've dragged her feet on the ground.

Daya happily accepted the little rice cake, mainly because it was so cute and fragrant, making it especially appealing.

"Get up, hurry up and wash your face and eat." Lin Qiuyue brought out a plate of large steamed buns from the kitchen. They were all made of white flour and no other grains were mixed in.

Gao Daya lowered her head, feeling a little embarrassed. She had gotten up so late and still had her sister-in-law cook for her, even though she was always the first one up at home.

"Sister-in-law, where's my second brother?" An'an took a big bite without even washing her face.

"Go wash your face before you eat, you won't look pretty with sleep on your face." Lin Qiuyue pinched An'an's cheek. "The village secretary needs to see your second brother, he went to a meeting at the village committee."

An'an took Daya to wash her face, then returned and asked, "Where's Third Brother?"

Lin Qiuyue placed a bowl on the table; it contained rice porridge. "Your third brother is a lazybones; he hasn't gotten up yet."

Upon hearing this, Gao Daya immediately straightened her back. Fortunately, Pingwa was at the bottom, so she wasn't the last one to get up.

But Cousin Rui is really amazing. The village secretary always calls on him to attend meetings, no wonder he can easily get a job at Xiangyang Forest Farm.

"I have two things to say today. One is about the autumn harvest. I plan to have Chen Ye, Gu Dayong, Zhou Rui, and their families go hunting in the mountains to provide logistical support for the villagers. The reward for the game will be based on work points."

The same people were still gathered in the village office, but this year, production team leader Zhang Aimin and Zhou Rui were also present.

Zhou Rui was called in by Zhao Youzhi to listen in. Who could blame him? This kid was quick-witted and full of fresh ideas, and Secretary Zhao had been keeping an eye on him for a long time.

"Secretary Zhao, we have no objections to any of this. Let's just stick to last year's approach."

"Yes, with meat, everyone works harder, the grain is harvested faster, and it dries faster. Few people have gotten sick from overwork. It's better than before."

"That's right. We won the award last year with this. This year we've reclaimed some wasteland and used fertilizer that Captain Zhang brought. We'll definitely win the title of outstanding production brigade again this year."

Zhang Aimin nodded with a smile. That's how it should be. He should achieve tangible results after his training, and this outstanding production brigade is the best example.

Zhao Youzhi tapped the table: "Alright, that's settled then. Now let me talk about the second thing, which is about the cultivation of ginseng in the Jiaolongxia Production Brigade."

Zhang Aiming's heart skipped a beat, then she turned to look at Zhao Youzhi. Zhao Youzhi's aged face was very calm, revealing little emotion.

That old fox, he didn't even consult me ​​about this.

That day, Zhou Rui brought half a bag of ginseng seeds to see them, but nothing happened afterward. They didn't expect it to be brought up now.

Then, Zhao Youzhi recounted Zhou Rui's suggestion from some time ago: "Planting ginseng under the forest can increase the income of the entire brigade. I went to the county to consult with people at the agricultural research institute about this."

"The country has this technology, but it mainly focuses on ginseng grown in round forests because ginseng grown in forests takes longer to mature, while ginseng grown in round forests can be harvested in just four to six years."

Zhang Aimin didn't listen to what Zhao Youzhi said after that; he only heard the year and muttered to himself.

That's why I don't want to plant it. It'll take this long, by which time I'll be long gone from the Jiaolongxia Production Brigade.

Zhou Rui listened silently without interrupting. He only spoke based on what he had heard in later generations; if he were to actually say it, he would be completely lost.

As soon as Zhao Youzhi finished speaking, the tobacco pipe in the main room lit up several times, and the smoke slowly drifted upwards along the roof beams.

After a long while, someone finally spoke up in a gruff voice: "Secretary Zhao, four to six years? That's too long. There won't be any harvest in the fields during that time, and the whole team, young and old, is waiting to eat. How can we afford to wait like that?"

Someone immediately nodded in agreement: "That's right. This isn't like planting corn and sweet potatoes, where you can get grain in the same year. With ginseng, it takes four or five years to turn it into money. What if we encounter a disaster year in between? Will we starve?"

Zhang Aimin was secretly pleased. These old farmers had indeed hit the nail on the head. He leaned forward slightly, adopting a composed demeanor.

"What you comrades said makes sense. Our brigade is weak and cannot afford to waste such a long time."

"The evaluation for outstanding production brigades is coming up at the end of the year. If we use our manpower to grow ginseng, what will happen to this year's autumn harvest?"

"If we don't complete this year's tasks, won't all our previous efforts be wasted?"

As soon as he said this, many people echoed his words, and even some of the group leaders who had been silent before showed hesitation.

Zhou Rui had been sitting quietly in the corner listening, and only then did he slowly speak.

"Captain Zhang, uncles and elders, we don't need to spare many people. We just need to send some people to clear a piece of woodland on the back mountain before the autumn harvest. It won't delay the harvest."

Zhao Youzhi glanced at Zhou Rui sideways, thinking to himself that this kid had finally spoken up and wasn't acting like a clay statue anymore.

This is also the main reason why he called Zhou Rui to attend the meeting.

Zhang Aimin is educated and knowledgeable about policies, but he always felt that this man was not of one mind with Jiaolongxia Village. He called Zhou Rui here mainly to have him refute some of Zhang Aimin's arguments.