Transmigrating into a Book in the 80s: After Giving Up, I Was Pampered by a Rough Man

Xu Yang mouthed the words and then said nothing more.

He took the camera off the roof of the Jeep, and gave Jiang Mian and Lu Ting a thumbs up.

Then he drove off towards the county committee.

Jiang Mian leaned against the door of the Land Rover and slowly mouthed the words.

"Pioneers of reform".

Lu Ting did not respond.

He opened the car door for her first, and after she was seated, he went around to the driver's seat and started the car.

Aunt Zhang and Aunt Li squeezed into the back row. They hadn't quite recovered from the fact that the marriage proposal had gone through, and they whispered about the reaction of Lin's parents all the way.

Lu Ansheng sat in the last row, a silly grin still on his face.

Once the car left the county town, the smell of coal smoke in Guihua Lane was left far behind.

Jiang Mian turned her head to look at Lu Ting's pale face.

"Did you feel nauseous again?"

Lu Ting held the steering wheel with one hand and reached out with the other to gently pat her knee twice.

"The alley smelled strongly of coal smoke, but it'll be fine once you come out."

Jiang Mian looked at him for two seconds but didn't expose him.

She rolled the car window down halfway.

The wind from the fields blew into the car, carrying the scent of grass and earth.

Lu Ting's tense Adam's apple finally relaxed a little.

……

Ten days later.

The county party committee office received a broadcast notification forwarded from China National Radio.

The documentary has been approved.

Tonight at 7 PM, CCTV will broadcast a special program titled "Tomato County in the Spring Breeze".

When the news reached Hongxing Brigade, the entire village forgot to eat dinner.

By 6:30 p.m., the threshing ground was already full of people.

A 21-inch imported color TV was personally moved by Lu Ting to a reinforced wooden table in front of the threshing ground.

The table legs were supported by bricks.

The wires were wrapped with insulating cloth.

He also tightened the antenna mast with wire.

This is the imported large-screen TV in Jiang Mian's house, and it has the clearest picture and the most stable signal in the whole village.

Lu Ting connected the power supply to the utility pole next to the threshing ground and then used a bamboo pole to raise the antenna two meters higher.

The screen flickered with static a few times.

The image stabilized quickly.

The host's eyebrows, eyes, and collar were clearly visible.

Sun Dahai squatted in front of the TV, so excited that he didn't know where to put his hands.

"That's enough! Stop turning the antenna! It's clear! Even clearer than the one at the county guesthouse!"

The threshing ground was packed with people.

The front row sat on the floor, while the back row sat on long wooden benches.

Further on, the standing people stood on tiptoe, and several children rode directly on their fathers' shoulders.

Aunt Zhang, along with about a dozen other women, maintained order, her voice as loud as a loudspeaker.

"Don't push! Those at the back, don't shove forward!"

"Anyone with a dog, get on your leash right now! I'm not responsible if it runs around like that when the TV comes on!"

Jiang Mian sat at the very edge of the threshing ground.

Lu Ting sat down next to her.

She was placed on three layers of cotton pads, and a thin blanket was covering her legs.

In April, the evening breeze in the countryside was still a bit chilly.

Lu Ting was afraid she would catch a cold, so he didn't let her out of his sight from the moment he left the house.

Jiang Mian tugged at his sleeve.

Aren't you cold?

"It's not cold."

Jiang Mian glanced at him.

The man's ears were slightly red, and his breathing was heavier than usual.

Someone was eating from a bowl by the threshing ground.

The aromas of steamed vegetables, soy sauce, and bone broth wafted over all together.

Lu Ting is probably holding back again.

Jiang Mian looked at the man with amusement, "If you can't stand it, go take some fresh air."

Lu Ting shook his head. "It's okay, I have to watch this show with you today."

Zhao Jianguo did not come to the village today.

He called Jiang Mian yesterday, saying that he couldn't leave because of an emergency meeting in the city.

But he specifically instructed Xiao Qin to stay in the county party committee office and watch the television.

After reading it, I called him immediately.

It's exactly 7 o'clock.

The theme song from CCTV began to play.

The once noisy threshing ground fell silent instantly.

Even the stray dogs lying on the ground stopped barking.

On the screen, a line of large characters slowly appeared.

Tomato County in the Spring Breeze.

Sun Dahai jumped up, almost kicking over the small stool in front of him.

"Tomato County! It really is our county!"

The village chief's wife slapped him on the back.

"Sit down! Don't block the child's view!"

Sun Dahai quickly squatted back down, but his hands were still slapping his thighs.

The scene cuts in.

The first shot didn't show the Red Star Brigade or the factory gate.

In the shot, there is a rough, large hand.

The fingers were thick and large, with rust-colored stains under the nails, and the palm was cracked.

With a twist of his fingers, he opened a tin can.

Red Star Brand Spicy Mushroom Sauce.

A narrator begins to speak.

"In the spring of 1984, a type of chili sauce that cost eight cents a jar quietly appeared on the bottom shelf of the No. 1 Department Store in the provincial capital."

In the video, Old Liu, an old worker at the steel plant, is sitting on a bench in the canteen.

He spread a thick layer of chili sauce on the steamed bun.

Behind me, a whole row of workers were breaking apart steamed buns and dipping them in sauce.

"This hot sauce comes from Tomato County."

No one spoke in the threshing ground.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the color TV.

The documentary is fast-paced.

The camera pans back to Tomato County, starting with an 80-cent chili sauce.

The terraced fields are lush and green.

Newly paved cement road.

Factory chimneys belching white smoke in the distance.

Next, the camera moves into the premium boutique workshop.

Su Zhenghang, dressed in blue overalls, squatted in front of the domestically produced filling machine that he had bought specifically to produce Red Star chili sauce, adjusting the gears.

His hands were covered in engine oil, his forehead was sweating, and his eyes were fixed on the tachometer.

The narration continues.

"The young people in this county town reduced the filling error of a production line to within 0.03% in just a few days."

In the threshing ground, someone gasped.

"Is this Suzhou-made?"

"Wow, he looks even more energetic on TV than usual!"

The scene quickly cuts to a textile factory.

Several female workers stood in front of a full-length mirror, wearing coats from the Oriental Elegance series.

Some people circled around to look at the back of the cut.

Someone covered their mouth and laughed.

A female worker in her forties said to the camera, "I've worked in textiles for twenty years, and this is the first time I've worn branded clothing made in my own factory. I don't want to take it off."

The women were immediately excited.

"I've seen this before!"

"It's our lucky star's 'Fifty-Six Yuan Dignity'!"

"They look even more stylish on TV than in real life!"

The next second, the scene cuts to the greenhouse on the back mountain.

The threshing ground fell silent instantly, and Lu Ansheng appeared on the screen.

He squatted in front of the mushroom rack, holding a notebook, checking the size and color of each yellow pine mushroom.

The substandard ones are picked out and put into another basket.

His movements were steady, and his eyes shone brightly.

The narrator lowered his voice.

"This eighteen-year-old used to be a cowherd in the village. He had no parents and no proper name. What was registered in the household register was just a nickname that people used to call him."

On the threshing floor, someone sniffed.

Lu Ansheng himself huddled in the last row corner.

The brim of his hat was pulled low, and the base of his ears was bright red.

Lin Xiaoxue came today too.

She sat down next to him and quietly reached out to hold his fingers.

Lu Ansheng froze for a moment.

Then, he gently clasped his hands back.

The film continues.