Before Zhao Yuyin, Widow Hu, and the other spies fell into the trap, Ping’an Brigade enthusiastically delivered its public grain.
This year, Ping’an Brigade contributed significantly more public grain than usual, catching the attention of higher authorities. Due to past lessons learned from famine caused by false reports of grain yields, the authorities were particularly strict about such matters. As a result, leaders from the commune sent investigators to look into the situation.
The investigation revealed that Ping’an Brigade had not falsified any data. The increase was solely due to their cultivation of Nanyou No. 2 rice this year, which had directly doubled their yield.
The commune leader was overjoyed: “Excellent, excellent! Comrade Jiang, your brigade has done outstanding work. Your brigade was the only one in our commune to plant this seed—truly bold and commendable!”
This achievement benefited the entire Red Star Commune.
“I will arrange for reporters from our city to cover this story. Ping’an Brigade is undoubtedly on track to receive an Outstanding Brigade Award this year.”
Upon hearing this, the brigade leader, already thrilled, grew even more excited, his face flushing with pride.
“Thank you, Leader! This is all thanks to your exemplary leadership. However, the credit primarily goes to our comrade Lin Zhen. If he hadn’t discovered the newspaper article about the Nanyou No. 2 seeds, we would never have known about this exceptional rice variety!”
He did not mention Song Wei, as she had repeatedly urged him not to bring up her name when speaking with leaders.
The brigade leader didn’t understand—why would Song Wei not want recognition for such an honorable achievement?
Song Wei: Thanks, but no thanks. It’s not that big of a deal. Being in the spotlight makes me feel like a performing monkey.
Lin Zhen: …I think I also said not to mention me.
But the brigade leader pulled him forward anyway.
“Forget about Song Wei, but you’re a grown man—hiding away is unbecoming!”
Soon, news of Ping’an Brigade’s doubled rice yield spread throughout the Red Star Commune and surrounding brigades.
Other communes were abuzz with excitement.
With public grain delivered and fieldwork easing up, brigade leaders, team leaders, and party secretaries from other brigades flocked to Ping’an Brigade to speak with Brigade Leader Jiang.
“Old Lei, aren’t we brothers? How could you keep the switch to the new rice seeds a secret from me!”
“You’ve really outdone yourselves this time. You’ve stolen the spotlight—buying a tractor, growing watermelons, now doubling your rice yield, and those vegetable greenhouses… Since when did Ping’an Brigade change so much?”
People from other brigades were green with envy.
By all accounts, Ping’an Brigade was undoubtedly the wealthiest among the surrounding brigades this year.
Fukang Brigade, which had always ranked first, felt particularly uneasy. They were usually ahead in everything, having been the first to buy a tractor, and they had never considered Ping’an Brigade a rival—after all, Ping’an had been too poor to even afford a tractor.
But somehow, Ping’an Brigade had transformed.
Their winter off-season vegetable greenhouses had caused a sensation throughout the city, even attracting attention from leaders and reporters.
Then, somehow, they were approved to grow watermelons, which must have earned them a considerable amount of money over the summer.
They bought a tractor, their dog brigade became famous, and now this rice yield…
The more they thought about it, the more uncomfortable they felt.
Jiang Lei, having served as brigade leader for so long, was adept at handling such situations.
Even when faced with backhanded compliments, he remained pleased. After all, in the past, Ping’an Brigade had never been noteworthy enough to attract such envy.
When you think about it, all of this is thanks to Educated Youth Song Wei and Lin Zhen.
It’s just a shame that both of them are so low-key and don’t like to boast.
The advantages of Nanyou No. 2 are so obvious that there’s no need to say it—next year, all the surrounding brigades will definitely be using these seeds.
After delivering the public grain and calculating the total weight, the entire brigade was filled with joy as if celebrating the New Year. The elderly were all smiles.
With the adults happy, the children naturally felt the excitement too.
Soon, it was time for the most anticipated moment: grain distribution.
This year’s work-point value had doubled compared to last year’s!
Everyone was thrilled and engaged in lively discussions.
Families gathered to discuss how much grain to exchange, what types to choose, and how much money to convert.
With work-points being more valuable this year, most people were willing to splurge on better-quality grain.
Song Wei and Lin Zhen didn’t take any cash—they exchanged all their work-points for rice, white flour, and a small amount of coarse grains.
Seeing them exchange for so much fine grain, others couldn’t help but feel envious.
Though they muttered a few criticisms about the two young people not knowing how to manage their lives.
The most pitiful case this year was Old Man Lin’s family.
Old Man Lin and his two sons came, hoping to exchange their work-points for as much grain as possible. They didn’t get any fine rice or white flour at all—otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough to feed their large household.
Though their family had several laborers and their total work-points weren’t the lowest, they had too many mouths to feed.
Now, with two bedridden family members who not only needed to be fed but also cared for, things were even tougher.
Old Man Lin looked at Lin Zhen hesitantly, as if wanting to say something.
But Lin Zhen didn’t even glance his way. He was about to leave with his grain when the brigade leader called out to stop him.
“Lin Zhen, don’t leave yet. Everyone, stay after collecting your grain. The work-points for the watermelons are calculated separately. There isn’t enough grain to cover all the work-points, so the watermelon work-points will be converted to cash. Also, for those who invested in the greenhouses earlier, we need to settle those accounts too.”
Hearing this, those who had invested in the greenhouses broke into wide smiles.
Those who hadn’t invested were filled with regret.
“Brigade Leader, can we still invest in the vegetable greenhouses this year? I want to put in some money!”
“Me too! My family also wants to invest.”
The brigade leader calmed everyone down. “We’ll discuss and decide on that later. Don’t rush—let’s distribute the grain and watermelon payments first.”
This year, the watermelons had brought in a lot of money, and the rice yield had doubled, but the overall grain supply was still limited.
So, not all work-points could be exchanged for grain, or there wouldn’t be enough to go around.
After the grain distribution, the brigade leader called people up one by one to exchange their watermelon work-points for cash.
Everyone was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear as they received their money.
This year’s earnings were directly twice as much as last year’s!
Those watermelons had indeed sold for a handsome sum.
Finally, it was time to distribute profits to those who had invested in the vegetable greenhouses.
Song Wei and Lin Zhen alone earned over a hundred yuan in profit, while others received at least ten yuan or more.
After settling all accounts, the brigade leader announced, “This year, we’ve gained experience, so I’ve decided to expand the scale of the vegetable greenhouses. Do you still want to invest?”
The crowd, who had just received their money and hadn’t even warmed to it yet: “……”
But having tasted the benefits, they gritted their teeth and decided to invest again.
Song Wei and Lin Zhen also invested, though not much more than before—they put in a hundred yuan.
They weren’t relying on the greenhouses to make money; they just wanted to let the other villagers earn a bit too.
That very night, the brigade leader held a meeting. This time, even more people participated in the investment.
The brigade leader cheerfully had the accountant record all the contributions.
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