“Captain Uncle, farming requires talent!”
The little girl’s playful and incredibly proud words made Su Changjiu burst into laughter.
“You little girl, you really think you’re a genius?”
“Of course! Captain Uncle, can you find another child in the brigade as smart as me?”
Su Changjiu left behind a string of hearty laughter.
As Su Changjiu had expected, when the people in the brigade learned that the crops had a good harvest this year and the brigade leader intended to distribute the same amount of grain to the people in the cowshed, there was no opposition.
They all knew that Du Lao in the cowshed had contributed a lot to this year’s increased crop yield.
It was said that he was also a farmer, but it was unknown how a farmer ended up being locked in a cowshed.
And Su Xiaotian, after confirming the good harvest, felt she should do something.
She remembered the system task she had accepted to get rich and felt that the right opportunity might have arrived.
In the current situation, it was clearly impossible for their family to get rich.
But what if the entire brigade did it together? Was that feasible?
She pondered it carefully for several days and finally decided she had to talk to the brigade leader.
If it was feasible, she had to seize the opportunity quickly. Perhaps her task could be completed next year.
Thinking that it would take such a long time to complete the task, Su Xiaotian felt a pang of sadness!
Who was as unlucky as her, with a task taking one or two years?
At this speed, she wouldn’t be able to complete many tasks in her lifetime!
This system was too much of a rip-off!
She decided to act immediately and headed straight to the fields to find Su Changjiu.
“Captain Uncle, we have grain to eat, can we also find ways to raise more pigs and chickens?”
“What does the little girl want to do?” Su Changjiu asked with a loving smile.
He liked such a capable child!
Su Shouwen had said that this girl knew how to farm, raise pigs, and chickens.
He hadn’t forgotten those words.
Perhaps this child wanted to do something herself?
“If our Hongxin Brigade had a chicken farm, could it solve the problem of insufficient egg supply for the commune, or even the county?” Su Xiaotian asked with a smile.
She had been to the county several times in the past few months and knew how tight the egg supply was.
Often, even with egg coupons, one couldn’t buy eggs.
Her uncle was a leader in the county, and there were times when he couldn’t buy eggs either.
To help her aunt recover her health, her grandmother saved many of the family’s eggs and sent them to her aunt.
“Raising chickens is not easy. The county has mobilized before, but three brigades that raised chickens successively lost money, and eventually, no one was willing to do it anymore.”
At this moment, Su Changjiu had truly forgotten that Su Xiaotian was just a little child, and he spoke to her earnestly.
In the beginning, many brigades thought raising chickens was easy. Who knew that after only a few months, before any profit was seen, all the chickens died, and they didn’t even know how they died. It even affected the chickens of farmers in the brigade.
“Captain Uncle, if I have a good way to raise chickens, would you be willing to try to get a quota for a village-run chicken farm from the county?” Su Xiaotian asked tentatively.
If Su Changjiu agreed, this matter could definitely be achieved with some effort. If Su Changjiu disagreed, she would have to find other ways.
Fortunately, Su Changjiu immediately indicated that the matter could be discussed.
Did he not know that the six chickens at the Su family’s home laid six eggs every day, which was much higher than the egg production of other families in the brigade?
If the Su family could pass on their chicken-raising methods to other members of the brigade, the Hongxin Brigade would truly prosper.
“Xiaotian, can you guarantee the chickens won’t die?” Su Changjiu asked again.
“No, as long as preventive measures are in place, they definitely won’t die.”
Raising chickens was indeed prone to epidemics, but as long as hygiene and disinfection were done well, it was not a big problem.
“Captain Uncle, if you apply to set up a chicken farm, I will contribute the chicken-raising methods to the brigade. Then, at the end of the year, our brigade members will not only receive grain but also eggs and money,” Su Xiaotian seized the opportunity to continue tempting the man who was already hooked.
“Xiaotian, why not set up a pig farm?” Su Changjiu asked, recalling what Su Shouwen had said about Su Xiaotian also knowing how to raise pigs.
The two pigs at the Su family’s home were also raised very well, much larger than those of other families in the brigade. It was likely they also had some good methods.
Eggs were delicious, but pork was even more delicious, and the profit from raising pigs was much greater than raising chickens.
Su Xiaotian hadn’t expected Su Changjiu to have such aspirations.
The initial investment for a pig farm was larger, and the results were slow to show. Investing now would only yield results next year.
“Captain Uncle, can you apply to set up a pig farm?”
Su Changjiu thought for a moment and shook his head, then nodded again.
Su Xiaotian was confused. What did this mean? Shaking his head and then nodding, did it mean it was possible or not?
“I’ll try. Pork is also in short supply. I just don’t know if the commune will support it.” Su Changjiu was tempted.
“Captain Uncle, raising pigs is also good, but it takes too long to see results. We can start with raising chickens. Once the chickens are successfully raised, we can start raising pigs,” Su Xiaotian offered a well-intentioned suggestion.
It had to be said that Su Changjiu was a decisive person. As soon as he had this idea, he immediately went to the commune.
However, this trip to the commune was not very smooth.
As soon as he arrived at Director Qian’s office, Su Changjiu was scolded.
Su Changjiu, having been scolded, was bewildered. What was going on? He hadn’t done anything recently, so why was he being scolded?
“Captain Su, you are an old cadre of our commune, how can you only care about the interests of your own brigade?”
“Director, I haven’t done anything!”
“Someone has reported that your brigade harvested the crops early and refused to help other brigades, causing other brigades to suffer heavy losses.” Director Qian said, “I was just thinking of sending for you, and you came yourself.”
Su Changjiu immediately knew that he had been slandered.
Without thinking, he knew it had to be the Dongfanghong Brigade or the Xiangyang Brigade. Of the surrounding brigades, these were the only two they hadn’t arranged to help.
“I’m being wronged, Director.” Su Changjiu immediately cried out in grievance.
“Don’t give me that. Speak properly.” Director Qian said with a stern face.
“Director, our Hongxin Brigade added a tractor this year, and the harvesting speed increased significantly. We completed this year’s summer harvest task one day early.”
Director Qian listened without speaking. Fortunately, Su Changjiu was stating facts and didn’t expect a response from Director Qian.
“Our brigade’s grain was stored before the heavy rain. To store it early, our brigade members worked continuously for three days and two nights.”
“Director, you didn’t see how exhausted our brigade members were. Even I, as the captain, felt heartbroken.” Su Changjiu even shed two tears as he spoke.
“You really stored the crops early? Without any losses?” Director Qian asked.
When Director Qian heard the weather forecast earlier, he was actually very worried that this year’s harvest would not be as good as last year’s.
He was especially worried that the crops that were about to be eaten would be lost just like that.
Su Changjiu nodded solemnly, “Yes, Director!”
This matter could be mentioned, but the increased crop yield should not be mentioned, otherwise, the losses of other brigades might have to be compensated by the Hongxin Brigade.
Su Changjiu was also a bit cunning. With his honest and simple appearance, people easily believed him, but in reality, he was also a very shrewd person.
“Then what is the reason for you not helping the brother brigades?” Director Qian asked with a stern face.
Although finishing the harvest early was commendable, it was not right to watch others suffer losses without helping.
“Poor brothers are one family, and one cannot be too selfish, Captain Su!” Director Qian’s tone was actually very stern.
But Su Changjiu was also an old hand at this, and he didn’t take Director Qian’s slight dissatisfaction to heart.
“Director, we didn’t see others suffering disasters.”
“How could you not have?”
“Heaven and earth as my witness, we really helped. Director Qian, all the men, women, and children in our brigade went to help other brigades harvest their crops.” Su Changjiu looked as if he was about to swear an oath, making Director Qian doubt for a moment.
“Did you really help?” Director Qian asked doubtfully.
“Yes, Director Qian. Before the heavy rain, we arranged sixty members for each of the Jiefang Brigade, Changqing Brigade, and Xiangqian Brigade. Our Hongxin Brigade only has so many people. A small portion remained in our brigade to do the finishing work.”
Director Qian weighed it. Sixty people per brigade meant one hundred and eighty people. The Hongxin Brigade had only a little over four hundred people in total, men, women, and children. It could indeed be considered a diligent effort.
“We helped wherever we could. It was only for the farther Xiangyang Brigade and Dongfanghong Brigade. When people came to ask for our help, we simply couldn’t manage, so we declined.”
Su Changjiu carefully observed Director Qian’s expression as he spoke.
When he saw Director Qian’s expression change noticeably when he mentioned the Xiangyang Brigade, Su Changjiu knew that the Xiangyang Brigade had filed a complaint.
It must have been reported through Director Wu.
Director Wu was someone who did no good deeds, only those shady and unspeakable things. He was so annoying!
Should he find a connection to have Director Wu transferred elsewhere?
For the first time, Su Changjiu had such a thought.
Director Wu, you are very good!
Hmph…
After explaining, Su Changjiu stated his idea.
After a trip to the commune and receiving the task of building a chicken farm, Su Changjiu was dazed and happy. He walked along, humming a slightly off-key song, so proud!
Upon returning to the brigade, he met Su Shouwen.
“Captain, what did the commune say?” Su Shouwen asked excitedly.
“Shouwen, it’s done!” Su Changjiu was very excited, his bronzed face turning red.
“Really?” Su Shouwen was also excited.
“Really, it couldn’t be more real.”
Director Qian required that a chicken farm be established to provide two thousand eggs to the commune per month.
He had calculated that if one chicken produced twenty eggs per month, only one hundred laying hens were needed.
If it weren’t for Su Xiaotian, he might still consider whether it was achievable, but with Su Xiaotian, this was not a problem!
“The chicks will arrive in a few days. Before that, take people and get the chicken coop ready for us.”
Su Shouwen immediately agreed.
The lumber was readily available, the location was ready, and the labor was ready. Su Shouwen led people and quickly built a large chicken coop.
The chicken coop was located at the foot of the mountain next to the brigade, with ample sunlight, spacious grounds, and good ventilation.
These were all requirements proposed by Su Xiaotian, who said that this would be beneficial for the growth of the chicks.
In fact, Su Xiaotian was disappointed to hear that the commune’s requirement was for a chicken farm with two hundred chickens.
Two hundred chickens was too small a scale.
But considering the current environment, it was already not easy to set up a chicken farm. Although the commune required two hundred chickens, if it developed and the number of chickens increased, the commune should not object.
After all, providing more eggs was also a political achievement.
“Xiaotian, do we need such a large chicken farm?” Su Shouwen looked at the spacious chicken coop. It could easily house seven to eight hundred chickens, right?
But the commune only allowed two hundred and fifty chickens, which was a waste.
“The area behind this needs to be enclosed as well, so the chickens can have a place to move around,” Su Xiaotian pointed to the wide woodland behind the chicken coop.
“Still need to enclose it?” Su Shouwen asked in disbelief.
“Chickens also need exercise,” Su Xiaotian said as a matter of course. “This dozen acres of land will be planted with fruit trees. The income from the fruit above and the chickens below will also bring income. It’s a good thing.”
“What good thing? Won’t the chickens ruin the trees?” Su Shouwen thought Su Xiaotian’s words were incorrect.
“It will definitely work. The chickens can eat the insects on the trees, and their droppings can be used as fertilizer. The trees will grow better.”
Su Xiaotian had recently read about this in books and intended to apply it.
Su Xiaotian was busy every day, her little face tanned dark, which made her elders at home worry immensely.
Such a fair child, how did she become a little coal ball?
Just as Grandma Su was about to lock her granddaughter at home.
A little girl should be raised well.
But Su Xiaotian was not someone who could stay at home peacefully. This was a matter that concerned whether her task could be completed, so she had to personally oversee it to feel at ease.
“Grandma, it’s okay. When winter comes and I don’t go out, I’ll recover,” Su Xiaotian said.
She had naturally fair skin. Even in middle age in her previous life, her skin was still fair, and she didn’t need to put in any effort to maintain it.
“It would be better to let you go to school. What have you become? Darker than your brothers. I feel heartbroken just looking at you,” Grandma Su complained.
“Grandma, it’s okay. Even if I get tanned, I’m still the prettiest child in Hongxin Brigade!”
Her words left Grandma Su speechless. Wasn’t she the prettiest child?
But if others said it, it would be praise, but why did it feel wrong when she said it herself?
“The roses in the soybean field, others don’t praise you, but you praise yourself. Go play, don’t stay here.” Grandma Su said with a smile.
Su Xiaotian busied herself and went to the chicken coop again.
Many hands make light work. Soon, the chicken coop and the surrounding fences were completed.
The Hongxin Brigade also began to prepare for the distribution of grain.
This time, the main distribution was summer grain.
Su Changjiu set aside the portion for the country and prepared the collective portion. He decided to distribute sixty percent of the remaining portion first.
Some families were already running out of food. Distributing some grain first would alleviate their urgent needs.
While the Hongxin Brigade was preparing to distribute grain, Grandma Su received news from Su Manxiu.