Chapter 255: Chapter 255: First Place in This Year’s Harvest Rush

Li Fengying’s health wasn’t good, so she couldn’t handle heavy work. When others could earn seven or eight work points a day, she could only earn three or four.

She was responsible for bundling straw, a task calculated by the team as six work points a day.

She earned more than before, wasn’t overworked, and her body could handle it.

“Why don’t they want to use it? It’s such a handy machine, works fast, and keeps things clean. In the past, it was unbearable to stay at the threshing ground, but now we work under the shade, without sun exposure, and can enjoy the breeze. It’s not tiring; why not use it?”

“Exactly. If you ask me, the hardest part of farming all year is the harvest rush. Harvesting is exhausting, threshing is heavy work, and it’s dirty. In the past, after a day of threshing, you’d be covered from head to toe in husks, even wishing you could get it out of every crevice. It’s not like that now; it’s much cleaner.”

“If those teams don’t want to use it, then it’s their loss.”

Tang Quantong was astonished. The commune had distributed one harvester to each production team, saying they worked well, yet they remained unused.

The root of the problem was known, but they couldn’t solve it.

In the cornfield, women were picking corn, filling baskets, while the strong laborers carried them back.

Three harvesters were finishing up, with some women bundling straw, which the strong laborers also carried back.

At the field edges, where machines couldn’t reach, Jiang Baohua and the village accountant were cutting with sickles. Seeing Tang Quantong leading the officials over, he wiped his sweat and hurried up, “Deputy Director Tang is here, are all the leaders here?”

Tang Quantong saw Shangjiang Team’s well-harvested fields, with more distant fields belonging to New United Team and Liaozhong Team. The golden waves of wheat rolled, intermittently revealing workers bent over in labor.

“Your team took the lead in this year’s harvest rush!” Tang Quantong’s feelings were mixed.

“Haha, every year during the autumn harvest, we’re in a rush. Sometimes we were so anxious, we couldn’t sleep at night. Now that it’s harvested early, we can rest easy,” said Jiang Baohua.

Tang Quantong was unconvinced. In truth, he was worried about the Shangjiang Team.

When the harvester proved successful in Shangjiang, he was happy, but as more teams resisted its implementation, his uncertainty grew.

Over time, those uncertainties fermented into doubt.

“Old Jiang, now that you’ve finished so quickly, what are your plans?” Tang Quantong asked.

He almost didn’t say it, implying whether the members would just idle afterward.

Jiang Baohua caught the undertone, “Well, there’s a lot to do. We’re planning to start a furniture factory, as I mentioned to you before, and also a threshing machine factory.”

As for the clothing factory Xu Qinghuan wanted to set up, he didn’t mention it, thinking it was just a little project for the young girls.

Tang Quantong reminded, “Old Jiang, the commune spent a lot to get the harvester drawings. You’ve seen the promotion situation. If these threshing machines don’t sell in the future, what will you do?”

Jiang Baohua had considered this, but unlike Tang Quantong, he found it pointless to predict so many difficulties before even starting.

“Deputy Director Tang, it hasn’t even started yet. The commune’s inability to promote it doesn’t mean other communes don’t want to mechanize. Besides, there are many farms out there. I’ve heard that meeting the reclamation targets each year is tough.

Our country has many vast and uninhabited areas. If it comes to it, I’ll go sell in the northwest, to big farms. I just can’t believe I won’t sell them.”

It’s a new path, one they had never considered, unsure where it might lead, but the future always holds hope.

Tang Quantong nodded, “Alright, I support you, but if it fails, the commune won’t be able to cover you. Keep that in mind.”

Jiang Baohua hesitated, ready to say something, but Tang Quantong waved it off, stopping him, “Let’s go to your team headquarters and sit for a while. Bring Xu the educated youth and Comrade Jiang along. There are things you can’t explain; I want to hear their opinions.

I heard recently they went to Yan City. How was it?”

“Xu the educated youth went for surgery, and my nephew went to accompany her, worried for her safety as a young girl alone out there.”

While chatting, approaching the team headquarters, Jiang Baohua saw Ren Jingmo, “Little Ren, do grandpa a favor, go call Xu the educated youth to the team headquarters.”

Ren Jingmo agreed and ran off, while Jiang Baohua spotted his grandson Jiang Xiangnan and Qin Baifan holding a bamboo pole with a branch tied on, using it to catch cicadas.

“Dandan, take Fanfan and go call your uncle to the team headquarters.”

In the afternoon, Xu Qinghuan awoke from a nap to find Jiang Xingye in her room, sitting at the desk writing and drawing, not sure what he was up to.

She rubbed her eyes, felt a bit lazy, and lingered in bed for a while before getting up.

Jiang Xingye put down his pen, got up, and pulled her into his arms, “If there’s nothing to do, sleep a bit more.”

“No, I’m getting up. There’s still some paperwork I haven’t finished. When are you going to the county? I’ll go with you.”

She had agreed with Gong Mingjie to deliver the translated materials as soon as possible, and it had already been days.

“The day after tomorrow.”

Jiang Xingye looked at her face, flushed from sleep, eyes misty, growing brighter, like a stream sparkling under the sun. The corners of her eyes were red, lazily leaning against his chest.

Jiang Xingye found himself unable to hold back, one hand supporting her neck as he leaned down to kiss her.

Xu Qinghuan’s hand climbed onto his shoulder, her body soft like a pool of water.

In the midst of their passion, Jiang Xingye’s hand slipped under her clothes.

In the yard, Qing Xiao lay under the eaves, its ears twitching. The master was at it again, making it miss the little female wolf in the space, pure white, though a bit feisty, but genuinely beautiful.

Seeing the child running into the yard, Qing Xiao lifted its head and whimpered.

Inside, Jiang Xingye released Xu Qinghuan, glanced out the window, then heard a voice, “Sister, sister, Grandpa Captain wants you to go to the team headquarters.”

Ren Jingmo called from the courtyard entrance, somewhat afraid of Qing Xiao.

Xu Qinghuan agreed, her voice so tender it made Jiang Xingye, who was still calming down, tremble.

He sat on the kang, his legs apart, hands on his knees, leaning slightly forward, slowly calming his breath.

“Jingmo, come in!”

Xu Qinghuan’s legs felt a bit weak as she held onto the door frame, walking out and standing at the entrance, waving to Ren Jingmo.

Ren Jingmo glanced warily at Qing Xiao, seeing it obediently lying on the ground, only then did he skip over excitedly.

“Sister, it doesn’t bite, does it?”

“No, it’s a well-behaved little dog. Its name is Qing Xiao, you can play with it.”

“Awoo!” Qing Xiao looked discontentedly at Xu Qinghuan, I’m not a dog, I’m a big gray wolf.

Xu Qinghuan patted its head, taking a handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candy from her pocket and handing it to Ren Jingmo.

Ren Jingmo smiled, delightedly accepting it, putting it in his pocket, and crouched beside Qing Xiao, tentatively reaching out to touch it.

Qing Xiao awkwardly avoided, glancing disdainfully at the human child.

Soon after, Dandan and Qin Baifan also arrived with the team’s message, Xu Qinghuan told the three of them to play at home, and she and Jiang Xingye headed to the team headquarters together.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep