allonlinenovel Chapter 271: I will accompany you through all the hardships!
Chapter 271: I will accompany you through all the hardships!
Zhang Xiuying looked at the silent forest and whispered to Dong Huiru, "All things are interdependent. Sparrows not only eat millet, but also eat insects. Now they have disappeared. This is not a good thing. It's hard to say what the harvest will be next year."
Dong Huiru: "No one can disobey the instructions from the central government. We just need to do our job well."
Zhang Xiuying shook her head: "No! The sparrow hunting operation has not yet ended. Village Chief Zhou said that people will be sent into the mountains to hunt sparrows every day to complete the task above.
With the current way of shooting sparrows, all the birds in the forest will be accidentally injured. If this continues, something serious will happen.
I plan to write a letter to the Kyoto Academy of Agricultural Sciences to tell them the benefits of sparrows, hoping that they can report to the higher authorities and cancel the sparrow extermination campaign.”
Dong Huiru: "The world is different from what we expected. If what we think is good is not approved by the higher-ups, the consequences are unpredictable and we don't know what accusations we might be made against.
Didn't you hear the jingle the children were singing?
'Mice are evil, sparrows are bad, flies and mosquitoes are like the Y faction. They suck human blood, bring disease, steal people's food and cause damage.'
Under the current situation, the letter you sent out will hardly be effective, and you might even be identified like me."
Zhang Xiuying: "But I still want to give it a try. I have been dealing with crops for most of my life. Every time I see a good harvest, it's like my own child has grown up. I really can't bear to see a disaster caused by us."
Dong Huiru: "Okay, then you can write a letter to Kyoto. I will accompany you through all the hardships!"
Zhang Xiuying: “Yeah!”
In order to increase the success rate, Zhang Xiuying not only wrote a letter to the Kyoto Academy of Agricultural Sciences, but also wrote letters to several agricultural experts she knew, hoping that everyone would advise the higher authorities to cancel the sparrow-killing operation.
Seeing sparrows falling from the sky one by one, some agricultural scientists realized the seriousness of the problem and reported it to their superiors, pointing out that sparrows are experts at eating insects and protectors of crops and should not be eliminated.
But feedback and review take time, during which time everyone is still actively playing mahjong...
The farm where Zhou Cai worked also participated in the campaign to eradicate the four pests.
The conditions on the farm were very poor. Everyone lived in wooden sheds with old wooden beds placed one after another on a low wall made of mud.
This was specially built by the farm to take care of the female comrades. The men's side is even more simple, just surrounded by bamboo and covered with some wooden boards and thatch.
Zhou Cai could tolerate the sleeping area, but she couldn’t look directly at the toilet.
The toilet was very simple, with a mud wall less than one person high surrounding a large pit with a few bricks on the edge of the pit and no roof.
Every time Zhou Cai went to the toilet, she would ask a female comrade to watch her from outside to prevent any male comrades from peeping.
It was okay when the weather was cold, but after May, inside and outside the toilet, flies and mosquitoes were buzzing in the sky, and white maggots were crawling slowly on the ground.
Zhou Cai felt that going to the toilet was a torture, but it was an important matter in life that she had to deal with.
Now the organization requires the elimination of the four pests. Zhou Caiju fully agrees and actively participates. Every day, he and the female comrades use fly swatters to kill mosquitoes and flies near the toilet.
In order to further improve the toilet environment, a female comrade suggested that they go to the site manager to discuss sending a few male comrades to pick out the feces from the toilet and lay some grass on the bottom to prevent the stench and maggots from crawling around.
This proposal was unanimously agreed upon by all the female comrades, but who to send needed careful consideration.
The farm does not have a large area of farmland, and most of the surrounding areas are swamps. Every year during the flood season, it becomes a vast ocean; after the flood season, the water recedes and it becomes a wilderness again.
In order to achieve the "leap forward" goal and build a larger and better base for grain, cotton and non-staple food, the government decided to reclaim land and build flood control levees, large sluices, dams, wave-breaking forest belts, main drainage canals and transportation roads nearby.
This huge project was launched at the end of last year. More than 100,000 workers, farmers, cadres and others from other provinces, surrounding counties, the city's agencies, factories and suburbs have participated in the construction.
In addition, cadres from provincial agencies and enterprises, university students, and local troops will also take turns to participate in voluntary labor.
Although there are many people inside and outside the farm, it is not easy to find a few men to help carry manure.
After all, this is a bit embarrassing and it is not within the scope of the task, so no one is willing to do it.
Unless the director gives the order, or tricks a few people who want to show off in front of some female comrades into doing this.
The female comrades working in the warehouse are all the objects of special care. After getting along with each other for a period of time, everyone can more or less guess who has whose backing.
Someone directly suggested that Zhou Cai go find the manager and the matter would definitely be done.
When the others heard this, they all agreed.
Zhou Cai was happy to talk to the manager about picking up the manure if it could solve the toilet problem, but she wanted to avoid the gossip being too obvious in everyone's eyes.
Zhou Cai didn't want to be tricked, so she said, "I'm not familiar with Director Yu, so it might be hard to convince him. Why don't we go together? There's strength in numbers, and it can show the urgency and importance of this issue. Director Yu might approve it."
A female comrade joked, "All of us combined are not as important as you. Director Yu will definitely give you the face of your future daughter-in-law. Go ahead and feel free. We are waiting for your good news."
Zhou Cai was stunned: "What do you mean by future daughter-in-law? Explain yourself clearly!"
Li Ping, the warehouse manager, said, "Yu Jie, the youngest son of Director Yu, is pursuing you. Don't you know that?"
Zhou Cai: "That's not true! Yu Jie and I haven't said a word to each other, and he hasn't expressed his intention to date me. Don't make random guesses and ruin our reputation!"
Li Ping: "You're not dating Yu Jie, so why did Director Yu assign you to the warehouse and give you cured fish and meat during the Chinese New Year? Do other female comrades on the farm get the same treatment?"
Zhou Cai was startled and wanted to confirm further when Yu Jie came over with a lunch box of fried bird meat and said shyly to Zhou Cai, "We were shooting sparrows in the woods and we shot down some turtledoves. I asked the chef in the canteen to fry them all. You can have a try."
Zhou Cai was about to refuse, but several female colleagues beside her took the lunch box from Yu Jie before her and said jokingly, "You are really considerate. You know to bring a portion of delicious food to Zhou Cai. As her colleagues, shouldn't we get a share?"
Yu Jie grinned and said, "Of course! You guys try it first to see if it tastes good. If you like it, I'll make it again!"
A female comrade took the opportunity to say, "We want to find a few people to pick up the feces from the toilet and put a roof on it. Can you help?"
Yu Jie: "That's easy. I'll talk to my dad and ask him to transfer some of the Y faction members from the farm to serve you."
"Really? Then we'll wait for your good news, thank you!"
Yu Jie: "No big deal! You guys take a rest first and try the bird meat. I'll go find my dad right away."