"Big brother, wait a mont, I’ll take you to the brigade office. I’ll call my second brother over, he’s in charge of these things, I really don’t know." Li Yunqiang was truly at his wit’s end; he couldn’t ignore the situation with his brother-in-law from his in-law’s village.
On the way, Liu Dazhi saw the wheat in the village growing neatly in rows, lush and green, which was a delight to behold. But back in his own village, despite the backbreaking work, they still hadn’t finished planting two hundred acres of wheat.
This was really a misstep, should have arranged things earlier to avoid this hassle.
With enthusiasm, Li Yunqiang led Liu Dazhi into the brigade office, instructing the kids playing on the road to go to Teacher Jiang’s house to find the village head.
"Yunqiang, don’t be upset with Cuilan. It was my fault for not handling this properly. I should have co directly to you two brothers, but when I ca over the day before yesterday, neither of you were around."
"Big brother, I’m not upset. The corn shucking machines will be ready in a few days. By then, you can purchase a few. They are really good stuff and worth every penny."
"Will they be ready in ti?"
"I can’t say for sure. My second brother is quite anxious as there are many neighboring villages looking for him. He’s so busy he’s breaking out in cold sores from stress.
But I’ll tell you secretly, the corn shucking machines are in the works. When the ti cos, I’ll find a way to get you a few."
"Yunqiang, you have to keep an eye on it."
"Don’t worry, big brother. Even if they’re not enough, I’ll make sure you get two machines. If there are more, I’ll try to get you a few extra. They won’t spoil. They can be used year after year."
"How much do they cost?"
"Around fifty bucks each."
"That’s reasonable. You know our village’s output, how many do you think are appropriate?"
"One machine can replace six or seven good hands in shucking corn."
"Good stuff, reserve four for ."
"I’ll try my best."
At this mont, Li Yungui entered. "You’ve co over, in-law?"
"Second brother, I’ve co to ask for your help."
"What are you talking about? Hurry up and sit down, tell what’s up."
"How many days until the seeding machine is available?"
Li Yungui looked troubled. "In-law, the seeding machine is really booked up. It’s currently in Huanggezhuang and will be there for four to five days. But all the villages that planted earlier want to plant more, and I’ve already promised them. Besides, there’s no guarantee we can make it. It’s almost the end of October now, if the wheat seedlings grow too small, they might not survive the winter.
I’m thinking of going around tomorrow to ask for their opinions. If it’s too late, it’s better not to plant to avoid wasting seeds."
"Second brother, I’ll co again tomorrow. If they decide not to plant, I’ll take their slot. One year, our village planted late and the seedlings didn’t freeze in the spring.
This year, I’ll try one hundred acres."
Li Yungui gritted his teeth. "In-law, alright, I’ll go find Wang Shulin this afternoon and co to the village to let you know tonight."
"That’s great, second brother. It’s because of my incompetence, that being village head is frustrating. I wanted to set a seeding machine a long ti ago, but those old guys said no.
But they secretly ca over to your village a few days ago to have a look and then ca back asking to get in touch with you to use the seeding machine."
"Sigh, it’s not easy for anyone."
"Second brother, you might not know, but everyone knows your village has already handed in the public grain, and our village is so envious. I just told Yunqiang that we must buy a few of those corn shucking machines from you guys."
"Sure, I can handle that."
Having obtained the confirmation, Liu Dazhi quickly took his leave, as there was still much work to be done back in the village.
As he was about to leave, he couldn’t help but remind Li Yungui, "Second brother, please keep inford."
"I’ll definitely co by tonight. I’m heading out now to find Wang Shulin."
After seeing off Liu Dazhi, Li Yunqiang sighed as he sat down.
"Alright, let’s just get back to work."
"Second brother, more than ten people took the day off today, I heard they’re all helping out at their father-in-law’s village."
"Let them go. There’s not much to do now. Five days later, we’ll go up the mountain. If they can catch up, fine, if not, there’s nothing we can do."
Li Yungui didn’t know what to say about his brother. That was a matter between husband and wife, and as an elder brother, he had no say.
He went to borrow a bicycle, rode it to find Wang Shulin.
"Old Li, what brings you here today? What’s up with the corn shucking machine?"
"Wait a few days, are you going to continue planting wheat?"
"I was thinking of planting another hundred acres."
"Will it survive the winter?"
"I’m not sure either. Actually, our village has planted quite a lot of wheat, having manually sown 300 acres, reaching a total of a thousand acres this year."
"Then don’t plant any more. Today, the in-law from Liu Village ca looking for . They’ve just sown 200 acres and want to plant another hundred. I’m really out of options, so I ca to ask you for a favor."
"It’s no problem, go ahead. We’re not planting any more this year. But you must get that corn shucking machine."
"About fifty bucks a machine, all made of iron, weighing twenty to thirty pounds each. As soon as they’re ready, you’ll be the first to get it."
"Reserve five for ."
"Alright, no problem. I’ll make sure to get it done. I can’t stay long, still need to head over to Liu Village."
"It’s about al ti, how about eating first?" Wang Shulin tried to hold onto Li Yungui.
"No, I need to inform about the tractor and head to Sun Family Village. I figure Sun Shengli won’t be planting either; Liu Dazhi is taking a gamble."
"That’s no good, co ho with right now. There are pancakes at ho; I’ll fry you an egg. Just have a few bites to fill up."
As the two were pulling back and forth, Old Yang showed up.
In the end, Li Yungui didn’t eat and pedaled away. He needed to visit Sun Family Village first, then Liu Village, followed by Zhengjiazhuang, and finally head to Huanggezhuang. Truly, he didn’t have a mont to spare.
When he arrived at Sun Family Village, he found Sun Shengli, who also decided not to plant anymore.
With this confird, he then went to Liu Village.
Seeing that many cornstalks were still standing, Li Yungui shook his head, recalling how his own village used to be like this.
He found Liu Dazhi, who was busy working.
"Second brother, you’re here?"
"Yes, Wang Shulin won’t be planting. Xiang Dong is in Zhengjiazhuang, estimating he’ll finish by tomorrow afternoon. Decide for yourself; if you want to plant, I’ll let him co over. If not, he’ll head to Huanggezhuang with my son. These kids have been worn out over the past month and a half."
"Plant, I’ve made up my mind. Have Xiang Dong co tomorrow."
"Alright, in-law. Let’s get this straight: six bucks per acre, including plowing and sowing. You need to prepare your own diesel fuel."
"Yes, I’m aware of the price. But, where can I find diesel now?"
"The township has it, go quickly."
"Alright, I’ll head over in a while."
"Okay, I’ll go notify Xiang Dong. You get busy, hurry and send people to chop the cornstalks with sickles. Just skim them along the ground."
Li Yungui demonstrated before pedaling away.
Liu Dazhi quickly dispatched people to chop the cornstalks. With more than ten strong laborers working through the day, they could accomplish a lot.
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