Just before, Su Changjiu had agreed with Du Tonghe that from now on, regarding how the village crops should be planted, Du Tonghe would only teach the Su family, and then the information would be conveyed through the Su family.
After all, the words of someone confined to a cowshed might not be convincing. If someone reported them during the process, it would cause a lot of trouble.
However, if it truly proved effective, and the crops indeed yielded more, then revealing the true reason for the increased yield would be easily accepted and believed by the commune members.
This way, the Su family would need a legitimate reason to interact with the cowshed. He did not want anyone to report the Su family for associating with people in the cowshed next time.
In the cowshed, Chi Yiyuan was sitting outside the door, diligently reading a book. He was so focused that he didn't even notice Chi Ge approaching him.
These books were entrusted to Su Xiaotian by Chen Zi'an, and they were high school textbooks covering all subjects.
Chi Yiyuan was a smart child and knew in his heart that this was something his grandfather couldn't teach him, and he had to rely on his own serious and systematic learning.
Seeing his grandson engrossed in his studies, Chi Ge felt comforted.
It wasn't just because Chi Yiyuan was studying diligently, but because he felt that the child had finally emerged from the pain of the past.
His willingness to study these books seriously represented, to some extent, that the child believed there would be a day when he could return to school.
"Old Chi, you can rest assured. Little Yuan will be very well in the future."
Du Tonghe walked up to Chi Ge at some point, looking at Chi Yiyuan, who was studying diligently, and felt quite comforted.
After the tragedy that befell the Chi family back then, the one who had the most difficulty moving on over the years wasn't Chi Ge, but Chi Yiyuan.
"It is our good fortune to have met the Su family," Chi Ge said, looking in the direction of the old Su family.
"The Su family is indeed very kind. I also didn't expect that Little Tian would attribute such great credit to me."
Others might not know, but Du Tonghe knew it very well. Although he was also teaching Su Xiaotian, there were many things Su Xiaotian knew that he himself was not very clear about. Moreover, the child's ideas were very forward-thinking, which in turn gave him many inspirations.
Their relationship was less of a master-disciple relationship and more of a mutual mentorship.
Chi Ge, having witnessed the entire process, knew the implications of this.
"Old Du, some kindness, we just need to keep it in our hearts!"
"You are right. We'll keep it in our hearts. If this old body has a chance to leave here one day, it won't be too late to repay the little girl!" Du Tonghe said with a smile.
"It's not just me. My stomach has improved a lot in the past two months, and it doesn't hurt as much. You don't know, but before you came, I had already prepared myself for not living much longer. Who would have thought that under Little Tian's meticulous care, I would have recovered so much."
In the past, he thought he might die soon. Not being able to eat stomach-nourishing food for a long time and surviving on half-starved wild vegetables would only worsen his stomach.
However, the Su family had given him food and Galla Chinensis, which gradually helped him recover.
This was a great kindness.
"Old Chi, I only had one son in my life, and he didn't leave me any legacy. I've been thinking lately, if only I could adopt Little Tian as my granddaughter." Du Tonghe no longer hid his thoughts from his old friend.
He had had this idea for a long time, but due to his current status, he didn't dare to speak it out, for fear of bringing trouble to Su Xiaotian.
"Since you want to, talk to Old Su later. Perhaps Old Su will agree."
"Are our current identities suitable for saying such things?" Du Tonghe shook his head.
With his current status, getting close to others would only be a burden to them. Why bother?
He would wait until the future, until there was a chance to turn things around.
"Old Du, if you recognize a godchild now, you might still have a chance. In the future, the little girl might not be willing to climb up to you."
Chi Ge used the word "climb up," which surprised Du Tonghe.
"You believe we can leave here and return to our former lives?"
"Yes, and it should be soon. As long as we can survive!"
"Then I will talk to Old Su about this matter later!" Du Tonghe gained encouragement and increased his confidence.
Meanwhile, the Red Heart Brigade had finished harvesting the grain and had threshed and dried it.
The brigade leader, stroking the dried grain, broke into a smile. The grain output today was indeed higher than last year.
This also meant that each household would receive a little more grain this year.
"Comrade commune members, in three days, it will be the day to hand over the public grain. The commune has said that the first three brigades to hand over public grain will receive rewards, which will be farming tools," Su Changjiu said confidently.
The commune members started discussing after hearing Su Changjiu's words.
The farming tools in their brigade were old and inconvenient to use. They had been thinking of purchasing new farming tools, but they didn't have the quotas. If they could be rewarded with new farming tools, it would be easier to work next year.
"Brigade leader, we must secure a spot no matter what!" someone couldn't wait and shouted.
Su Changjiu said, "That's what I mean. We'll start preparations in the next two days. My intention is to weigh the amount of public grain to be handed over one day in advance, and prepare an additional three hundred catties of grain, so as not to be short and delay the grain delivery."
The commune members were a bit confused. Why prepare an extra three hundred catties of grain?
"Do you all think, why bother to prepare an extra three hundred catties of grain? Think about it, in previous years, there were instances of grain shortages leading to deductions in weight. This year might be the same, so it's better to prepare more in advance. At most, we'll just have to exert ourselves a bit more to bring it back."
After Su Changjiu finished speaking, the commune members all agreed. Farmers, if they had nothing else, they had strength.
"Alright, brigade leader, we'll all listen to you."
"Yes, we'll all listen to the brigade leader. The brigade leader has more foresight than us."
"Then it's settled. The night before, let the wives at home make some filling dry rations to take with them. We'll load the carts after dark and set off."
In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and the public grain was well-prepared and stored in the brigade's warehouse.
That night, the men from the brigade went to the warehouse to load the carts.
The Red Heart Brigade was not wealthy, possessing only six donkey carts, three ox carts, and one horse-drawn cart.
After all ten carts were loaded, there was still some grain left, so they found flatbed carts to load it.
However, there weren't many flatbed carts in the brigade, and they still couldn't load all the grain. The remaining grain was then carried by shoulder poles, as called for by the brigade leader, Su Changjiu.
The three Su brothers were all strong and volunteered to carry the poles.
With the three Su brothers taking the lead, several other young and strong men also expressed their willingness to help carry the poles.
The women in the brigade were also busy preparing dry rations for the men to deliver the public grain.
Families with better conditions made white flour pancakes, while those with poorer conditions made corn flour steamed buns.
Of course, because they were eating together when delivering public grain, everyone could see what others were eating.
Therefore, very few families actually made steamed buns. Most made white flour pancakes, with at most some sweet potato flour or corn flour added.
The old Su family was no exception. Grandma Su, along with her three daughters-in-law, prepared the best dry rations their family could offer for the men.
Grandma Su made chive pancakes. To avoid attracting attention, Grandma Su mixed eggs into the dough, making them sweet and nutritious.
In the chive filling, she added a little chopped egg, making it look presentable but not ostentatious. Grandma Su also added some lard to enhance the aroma of the chives, making them smell incredibly delicious.
"Mother, are six each enough?" Liang Xiu was packing the dry rations.
Grandma Su looked at the large basin of chive pancakes and said, "It's about enough, enough to eat. Prepare some for the four boys too, don't let them go hungry. Oh, and prepare an extra portion for Li Zhuzi."
"Mother, you always think of everything. Li Zhuzi has helped our family a lot these days," Liang Xiu said with a smile, without any reluctance.
She had gotten used to it. Although there were more delicacies at home this year, they always shared some with the cowshed whenever they made something good. Recently, Li Zhuzi had also been added to the list.
As she spoke, she packed a few more chive pancakes into the oil paper bag and then placed them in a cloth bag sewn from scraps.
Although it was a bag sewn from scraps, the women of the Su family were diligent and skillful. Each scrap of cloth was cut into small triangles and sewn together densely, making it very beautiful.
"Li Zhuzi is alone and doesn't have a woman to prepare food for him. It's all that damned Kang Yiye's fault. She ruined his blind date attempt," Wang Xianghua said casually, overhearing Liang Xiu's conversation with her mother-in-law.
On that day, Li Zhuzi went to the river to bathe because he had a blind date the next day and wanted to tidy himself up. Who knew that he would be falsely accused of indecency by Kang Yiye and beaten by the villagers to the point of near disability? The blind date was called off.
Later, although people still introduced potential partners to Li Zhuzi, as soon as they heard about his past incident, they immediately refused.
Occasionally, there were those who knew the inside story and were willing to overlook it, but seeing Li Zhuzi's scabby head, most of them also disagreed. There was one who agreed, but after seeing the conditions of Li Zhuzi's family, there was no further contact.
Li Zhuzi simply gave up on these matters. He was content with himself, and after finishing the work in his own private plot, he went to help the old Su family to repay the kindness of saving his life that day.
Li Zhuzi was very grateful to the Su family. If the Su family hadn't saved him, he would have likely been beaten to death by the river.
Grandma Su was kind-hearted and, when convenient, would help Li Zhuzi prepare food. Li Zhuzi always said that he had hit the jackpot.
"Kang Yiye, that woman, being punished to sweep streets and clean toilets, she deserves it!" Grandma Su said disdainfully.
Liang Xiu said with some worry, "I wonder if she will return to our brigade after her sentence is up."
This was her biggest concern. Such a woman, if she returned, who knew what she would do.
At that time, Kang Yiye's target was the third son of the Su family, and it seemed she intended to frame the third son of the Su family and force him to divorce and marry her.
Thinking about it made her feel troubled.
"Whether she returns or not, we'll deal with it when the time comes. Eldest daughter-in-law, I remember, doesn't your maternal family have a girl with poor eyesight? She's also in her twenties. Why not introduce her to Li Zhuzi? Perhaps they'll hit it off." Grandma Su suddenly said.
Apart from his scabby head, Li Zhuzi was actually quite well-proportioned and careful when working.
If he didn't have a scabby head, he certainly wouldn't be looking for a girl with poor eyesight.
This child is truly unfortunate!
Wang Xianghua, upon hearing her mother-in-law's suggestion, immediately clapped her hands and said, "Mother's words are very reasonable! I'll inquire about it when I go back in a few days."
Su Xiaotian happened to overhear these words and felt that pairing Li Zhuzi with a blind girl was a waste.
She wondered if his scabby head could be treated. If it could be cured, perhaps he could find a healthy girl to live with.
Suddenly, she remembered a recipe for treating scabby heads from a book she had recently read, but she wasn't sure if it would work for Li Zhuzi.
She pondered, and decided that after delivering the public grain tomorrow, she would find time to ask Li Mingcai if these medicinal ingredients were available around the village. If not, could they be found at the commune or county level?
Regardless of whether it was effective, it was worth a try. What if it worked?
While Su Xiaotian was contemplating, the men of the Su family, including Su Shouwen and his three brothers, had returned to get their dry rations and had already set off to deliver the public grain.
Transporting grain to the commune was indeed hard work, especially at night when the roads were difficult to navigate. Some ten-year-old boys helped by carrying lanterns.
But no one complained of hardship or fatigue.
Everyone had only one thought in their hearts: after delivering the public grain, they could start dividing the grain.
Therefore, they worked with extra effort, pulling the flatbed carts, carrying the shoulder poles, a vast procession, heading towards the commune in the dark.
Along the way, the procession was so grand that other brigades they passed, upon hearing that they had already set off, realized that the Red Heart Brigade was aiming for the top three. However, their preparations were insufficient, and the grain hadn't even been loaded onto the carts, so it was too late to catch up.
The group set off in the middle of the night and arrived at the commune before dawn.
As Su Changjiu had predicted, there was already a brigade queuing at the entrance of the grain station.
The commune members saw that they had started so early and felt a bit disappointed that they hadn't secured the first place.
But after inquiring and finding out that only the Dongfanghong Brigade was ahead of them, their spirits immediately lifted. If they couldn't get first place, being second was also good.
After all, the Dongfanghong Brigade was located in the commune's administrative center.
All roads lead to Rome, but it still takes time to travel. However, the Dongfanghong Brigade was already in Rome, so they couldn't compare.
"Old Su, you've come quite early. When did you set off?" an old man in his sixties asked, puffing on his dry tobacco pipe, as he spoke to Su Changjiu.
"Captain Luo, please don't tease us. The journey was difficult, so we set off at midnight. Who knew that everyone was so eager that we arrived earlier than expected. As for Captain Luo, you are so close to Dongfanghong, yet you are still so proactive."
Captain Luo laughed and said, "Let's not try to outdo each other. Who doesn't know who?"
The two of them burst into laughter.
After laughing, Captain Luo asked, "I heard that someone in your brigade saved a great leader. Why didn't you think of asking the great leader to take care of your brigade?"