When Su Changjiu saw people in the brigade eating thin gruel, working in the fields while dizzy from hunger, he felt sad.
For many years, his commune members had been skin and bones.
Now, he saw hope.
This hope lay with Old Du, who lived in the cowshed.
Du Tonghe might just be the opportunity heaven had bestowed upon their Hongxin Brigade.
"I'm going to see Old Du!" Su Changjiu declared, making up his mind.
"Captain, is it appropriate for you to go?" Su Shouwen asked hesitantly.
Although the relationship between the commune members and those in the cowshed was currently harmonious, if the captain were to go to the cowshed so openly, wouldn't people talk?
Su Changjiu couldn't care less about anything else. If Du Tonghe could increase crop yields, he was a treasure to the farmers.
He believed that even the commune members in the brigade would respect such a person.
"It's fine, our brigade members don't have any crooked thoughts," Su Changjiu said firmly.
"But what if the news spreads to other brigades, and people from other brigades find out? Then there will be trouble again."
Su Shouwen, having followed Su Changjiu for a while, had developed some perceptiveness.
"What trouble? Doesn't every brigade have someone living in a cowshed?" Su Changjiu dismissed it as unimportant.
However, he knew in his heart that if people from other brigades found out, they would definitely use it to attack the Hongxin Brigade.
But for the sake of the crops, he had no choice but to take the risk.
Su Changjiu walked towards the cowshed while contemplating, his steps quick. Su Shouwen, a young man, found it difficult to keep up.
As the two of them arrived at the cowshed, they heard sounds of an argument from afar.
"Shouwen, who's arguing in the cowshed?"
This wouldn't do. Du Tonghe was practically a god of the earth; they had to curry favor with him.
"I think it's Xiaotian's voice. I wonder what they're talking about," Su Shouwen quickly replied.
"Xiaotian?" Su Changjiu smiled when he heard this. "Isn't it just Xiaotian? This girl looks so well-behaved, how can she be arguing so loudly?"
Wait, that didn't seem to be the main point. Why was Su Xiaotian looking for Old Du in the cowshed to argue?
"We'll know when we go see!"
Su Shouwen could only say so.
When the two of them went over, they indeed saw Su Xiaotian arguing with Du Tonghe.
They didn't know what they were saying, but they were arguing heatedly, looking like they wouldn't back down and were about to fight.
A little girl and an old man, the scene looked truly bizarre.
But Su Changjiu suddenly felt ashamed.
"Xiaotian, you can't do this!" Su Changjiu quickly stopped her.
If it were any other child, Su Changjiu would have rushed over and kicked them aside, but not Su Xiaotian.
Firstly, Su Xiaotian was a well-behaved child and never caused trouble.
Secondly, Su Xiaotian was the apple of the Old Su family's eye. If he really kicked Su Xiaotian, his life would probably be difficult.
In his opinion, Su Xiaotian was like his own child; how could she be so disrespectful to Old Du?
Old Du was a great contributor to the Hongxin Brigade.
But to Su Changjiu's surprise, it was Du Tonghe who replied.
Du Tonghe didn't even turn his head, and directly shouted, "Captain, you sit over there. Xiaotian and I haven't finished talking."
Haven't finished talking?
Talking about what?
Su Changjiu was stunned. What was going on?
What could a grown man and a little girl have to talk about?
Did he hear wrong?
"Old Du..." he stepped forward tentatively.
"Captain, don't disturb us!" Du Tonghe said impatiently, without even lifting his head.
Su Shouwen was speechless. This Old Du truly had no awareness of his situation in the cowshed.
The person speaking to him now was the captain. If he offended him, his future days would be truly difficult.
Oh, no, the captain probably treated Old Du as a treasure now, so a bit of bluntness wouldn't matter!
"Xiaotian, I think your reasoning is sound, but according to my deductions, it also seems reasonable!"
Old Du continued to chat with Su Xiaotian, completely ignoring Su Changjiu.
"Grandpa, your reasoning is reasonable, but if it's applied in practice, it's not realistic. Have you considered..."
Su Xiaotian insisted on her opinion. Her little face was flushed from speaking so forcefully, making her look exceptionally cute.
"But what you're saying, although reasonable, has no basis. We're all just guessing!"
Su Xiaotian wanted to say that she wasn't guessing; it was because she had communicated with the crops, and the corn itself had told her.
But could she say that? No!
"Grandpa, listen to me, it definitely won't be wrong. How about we make a bet?" Su Xiaotian said, refusing to back down.
Su Changjiu listened for a while and understood that these two were talking about growing crops. Moreover, Su Xiaotian's words seemed quite reasonable, even more so than Old Du's.
"Shouwen, what are they talking about?" Su Changjiu could only look at Su Shouwen.
After all, Su Shouwen seemed accustomed to it and should know something.
"You'll get used to it slowly. When neither of them can convince the other, they just get stuck. When the old and young argue, they get red in the face, almost to the point of fighting. Today is actually quite good."
Su Shouwen was already used to their way of interacting. If they didn't argue when talking about farming, it would be truly strange.
He actually had a feeling that Old Du was training Xiaotian as his disciple.
However, at other times, it seemed as if he was listening to Xiaotian, and he didn't know what kind of interaction this was.
"Almost fighting?" Su Changjiu looked at Su Xiaotian in disbelief. Was this child that formidable?
Wasn't she a soft little girl?
"Captain, I'm not lying. Xiaotian is sometimes even more formidable than Old Du," Su Shouwen said with a smile.
"Who is responsible for the increased crop yields in our brigade?" Su Changjiu suddenly asked.
Su Shouwen hesitated, unsure how to answer.
How was he supposed to say it? Was it Old Du's credit? Old Du himself might not agree with that statement.
In private, Old Du had often said that Su Xiaotian was a rare genius child who understood crops very well.
Was it Xiaotian's credit? Xiaotian was only an eight-year-old child, practically a baby. Who would believe she knew how to farm?
"Captain, what do you mean by that question?" Su Shouwen asked.
"It means nothing. I just think Xiaotian also knows how to farm!"
Su Shouwen was silent for a moment. Farming was nothing; Xiaotian knew much more.
But no matter how much she knew, she couldn't tell him!
"Yes. Xiaotian not only knows how to farm, but she also knows how to raise chickens and pigs!" Su Shouwen nodded and admitted.
"Everyone in the brigade says that Xiaotian is pampered by your family. How could she know these things?"
"Our Xiaotian is the smartest child. My grandpa said she's a born farmer, it's just a pity she's a girl."
"What's wrong with being a girl? It's fine, girls can also be successors," Su Changjiu immediately retorted. "You are now considered a cadre in the brigade, you can't discriminate against women."
Uh, Su Xiaotian was just a little girl now, it was too early to talk about women.
But that wasn't the point.
"My grandpa also said that it's not good for children to be too smart, and he told us not to say anything," Su Changjiu added.
Thinking about the hens that laid eggs every day at home, and the pigs that clearly grew better than those of other families, Su Shouwen himself found it incredible.
How did the little girl manage it?
Compared to her, he, as the elder brother, felt utterly useless!
"You're the elder brother, why do you feel so useless?" Su Changjiu suddenly blurted out a heart-wrenching remark.
When those eyes glanced over Su Shouwen, they were full of disdain...
Su Shouwen...
Although he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't say anything.
He used to think he was quite capable, but compared to her, it was indeed as the captain said, he was useless.
Even if he was useless, he couldn't admit it, right?
"Captain, I think I'm still okay!" Su Shouwen said, forcing himself, even managing a forced smile.
Su Changjiu glanced at Su Shouwen leisurely and said nothing more.
He grew so tall in vain! Did he only grow in height and not in brains?
If Su Shouwen knew what Su Changjiu was thinking, he would have been completely flustered on the spot.
More than half an hour later, Su Xiaotian and Du Tonghe called it quits.
Although neither of them had convinced the other, they had finally stopped arguing.
"Xiaotian, we'll continue our discussion next time. This requires practice to reach a final conclusion," Du Tonghe said, panting.
"Okay, we'll talk later," Su Xiaotian said with a precocious air.
The two walked up to Su Changjiu, and Du Tonghe finally remembered to greet the captain.
"Captain, why have you come to see me?"
"Just came to take a look. I didn't expect you to have such a heated debate. I've learned a lot," Su Changjiu said with a smile, like a Maitreya Buddha.
This old man and this child are both top-notch individuals. The Hongxin Brigade is blessed!
"Captain, please don't laugh at us."
"It's not laughing, it's that I find what you're saying is quite reasonable," Su Changjiu said with a smile.
He was also an experienced farmer. Although he didn't understand some of it, he could understand the simpler parts.
These two, whether old or young, were not just for show.
"Xiaotian and I are researching the cultivation of corn seeds. Captain, this matter might require a long debate, and even practical experimentation."
Su Changjiu was taken aback. What did he mean by practice?
"How to practice? Will it increase yield?" He only cared about this one question.
"Specifically, practice in the fields."
Upon hearing Du Tonghe's words, Su Changjiu immediately waved his hands repeatedly. "Are you kidding me? Are fields meant to be messed with like this?"
To ruin crops would invite divine retribution!
"No, no, don't even think about ruining my crops."
"Uncle Captain, it's not ruining. Just give us a small piece of land," Su Xiaotian said with a smile, holding up two fair fingers to indicate a short distance.
"Captain, there is a lot of corn in the fields of our Hongxin Brigade. Can you give us a small plot to observe?" Du Tonghe asked directly. "If we can cultivate good seeds, the crop yields next year will increase significantly."
Su Shouwen, hearing Du Tonghe's words, deeply believed that the captain would definitely not agree.
How could the captain agree to let them experiment on good crops?
The fields were the captain's lifeline.
But, to everyone's surprise, Captain Su Changjiu agreed.
Moreover, he directly gave them three mu of land.
"I'll give you that small plot of three mu in front for you two to experiment on, but no more, otherwise it will affect the crop yield."
When the captain said this, he felt heartbroken.
If it weren't for the consideration that the experiments conducted by this old man and child might increase crop yields, he would never have agreed.
"Thank you, Uncle Captain. Uncle Captain, don't worry, our Hongxin Brigade's crops will increase in yield next year," Su Xiaotian said with a sweet smile.
After saying this, Su Xiaotian suddenly felt that what she said might not be entirely accurate, but the words were already out, and it was impossible to take them back.
Fortunately, Su Changjiu didn't find anything wrong with it. This child's words would surely not be groundless.
"Good, I believe you. Old Du, you have a good disciple! On behalf of the Hongxin Brigade, I thank you!" Su Changjiu suddenly reached out and firmly grasped Du Tonghe's hand.
All he could think of was that Old Du had put great effort into cultivating Su Xiaotian, otherwise how could Su Xiaotian have known so much?
What was helping crops increase yield? Teaching a good disciple, ensuring the future crop yields of the Hongxin Brigade, that was the real blessing.
Su Xiaotian's eyes rolled, and she immediately smiled and said, "Uncle Captain, you are absolutely right. Grandpa Du has taught me a lot of knowledge, and I will definitely be a farmer in the future."
Du Tonghe himself felt unworthy. Xiaotian's abilities were far greater than his.
Although in terms of theoretical knowledge, Xiaotian did not master as much as he did, when it came to solving practical problems encountered by crops, he couldn't even catch up to Su Xiaotian.
He didn't know how this child understood the needs of crops.
Du Tonghe had no idea that Su Xiaotian held a sharp tool that allowed her to understand the various needs of crops during their growth.
Of course, even if he heard Su Xiaotian say that she could understand the crops, he probably wouldn't believe it.
What a joke! Understanding the language of crops? That's like trying to fly to the sky!
"Old Du, I understand your intentions. On behalf of the members of the Hongxin Brigade, I thank you!" Su Changjiu thanked him even more earnestly.
Du Tonghe repeatedly said, "You're too kind, you're too kind. Captain, you are too polite."
His tone was so awkward!
Why was he suddenly being thanked like this?
Su Changjiu said with a smile, "It's not politeness. Don't worry, when we distribute grain this year, you will receive the same allocation as all the other commune members. Absolutely not one bit less."
With the captain's words, Du Tonghe felt even more hopeful about life.
Given the grain output of the Hongxin Brigade this year, it was unquestionable that everyone would have enough to eat.
It was a great joy that those living in the cowshed could also eat their fill.
"Old Chi, we can also receive the same grain allocation!" Du Tonghe said, tears of joy welling up.
Seeing Old Du like this, Su Xiaotian and the others felt a pang of sadness.
An elderly man in his twilight years was so overjoyed just to receive the same grain allocation as most commune members that he shed tears of joy. How could this not make one feel sad and distressed?
"Old Du, in the future, I hope you will help our Hongxin Brigade cultivate more good farmers."
Su Changjiu thought that it would be best if all the members of the Hongxin Brigade knew how to farm.