With Yang Deng'er in charge, Ma Renli's bad mouth didn't cause any more trouble.

General Chang also came over and brought a lot of things. He took Ma Renli's hand to express his sincere thanks and gave Ma Renli a medal.

All of a sudden, Ma Renli changed from a disciple of the landlord to a hero who contributed to the Anti-Japanese War. The county and the commune immediately began to pay attention to Ma Renli. County Magistrate Zhang even came down personally to visit Ma Renli's home and talk to him.

Ma Renli ate and drank, chatted for a long time, and said a lot of words of encouragement and praise.

The villagers' attitude towards Ma Renli has also changed. In the past, although Wang Zhong and Ma Renli made suggestions for the village, their attitude towards Ma Renli improved a lot, but after all, there was still a lot of prejudice because of Ma Renli's background.

Now that General Chang has happened, Ma Renli has suddenly gone from a poor background to a hero of the war of resistance and national salvation, and his mood is completely different.

Fortunately, after so many years and experiencing so many things, Ma Renli is no longer the college student who just came back from Peking. He knows what it means to speak out and what it means to be a lowly person.

Hiding minions and enduring them is like a tiger lying on a barren hill.

He has put away his sharp edges, become a little more tactful and shrewd, reads more and talks less, and has Yang Deng'er by his side to give him advice. Ma Renli's life is getting better and better.

Ma Renli's life was getting better, but God was not very kind to him. There was not much rain in the whole summer.

During the autumn harvest, the crops in the fields invariably decreased in yield, and a large part of the vegetables among the villagers were sunburned and dead. Fortunately, there was water in the rivers and weirs and ponds, and they were irrigated from time to time, so a lot of them were preserved.

.

In front of the warehouse, Wang Zhong led everyone to weigh the peanuts, soybeans and rice that had been collected one by one. While Ma Renli was recording, Wang Zhong also kept the numbers in his mind. When the last bag of soybeans was weighed, Wang Zhong couldn't help but feel

He sighed: "This is not a good sign!"

"The output of peanuts and soybeans has dropped by nearly 30%, and that of corn by nearly 40%. Only the yield of sweet potatoes has been slightly higher, with a reduction of about 20%." Listening to Ma Renli's statistics, the villagers felt a little heavy.

This is the first time since Wang Zhong became party secretary that production has been reduced.

Ma Renlian couldn't help but sigh: "There has been too little rain this year. Although there is river water for irrigation, it is still a drop in the bucket."

The total output has been reduced, so the work points of the villagers are naturally not as valuable as in previous years, and the things given to them are naturally less than in previous years. However, the villagers are relatively simple and know that this matter is God's fault, and everyone is also

He pinched his nose and admitted.

After the rations were distributed, Wang Zhong and others gathered at the team headquarters for a meeting.

Wang Zhong was still the first to speak: "Renli, tell me about the results of your observations during this period!"

Ma Renli said: "According to my observation, our Maixiangling area will not see much snow this winter, and there is a high possibility of drought in the coming spring."

"Is there really going to be a drought next year?" Niu Danda was the first to feel uneasy.

Ma Renli said: "I can only say that the possibility is very high!"

"Ren Lian, is there any news from the meteorological observatory?" Wang Zhong asked.

Ma Renlian shook his head: "Not yet, but according to Secretary Wang, it seems that the meteorological observatory is not sure either."

"Since we are not sure, no matter how much we say, it is useless. We still have to plant when we need to." Although we know that there will be a drought next year, and it will be a severe drought that will last for several years, we still tell the villagers this, even though Wang Zhong's prestige

No matter how high it is, it will be difficult to convince everyone.

"Whether there is a drought or not, we can always make more preparations."

"What are you preparing for?" Everyone looked at Wang Zhong curiously.

Wang Zhong glanced at everyone angrily: "Prepare as you need to. Get more buckwheat seeds and prepare them. There is still water in the river. If we change the water channel, we can pump a lot more. Let's find a way to get more."

Save some water, say hello to the folks in advance, and ask everyone to tighten their belts. Don't live in such luxury. With food in hand, we are not afraid even if there is a drought.

Especially now that the Chinese New Year is approaching, I would like to tell everyone earlier so that everyone can be mentally prepared."

"Buckwheat seeds are easy to talk about, but how do we store water?" Ma Renli asked.

"Do you have any good suggestions?" Wang Zhong asked.

Everyone bowed their heads in thought.

"How many more weirs and ponds should we dig?" Zhao Youtian suggested.

Ma Renli said: "It doesn't make any sense. The reservoir on the upper reaches of the Maixiang River is almost finished. If the drought really reaches the point where even the reservoir is dry, it won't be of any use no matter how many weirs and ponds we dig."

Yes, although the reservoir just built upstream has not been completed yet, it stores a lot of water. Due to the construction of the reservoir, the current flow of the Maixiang River flowing through the Maixiang Brigade is much smaller than before. Fortunately, irrigation was started at the beginning.

During the project, Wang Zhong and Ma Renli had considered this in advance. The location for the waterwheel construction was found after careful selection. Although the water flow is now small, after a square canal is opened, the water flow of the Maixiang River will be reduced.

Water can still flow into the ground.

Niu boldly said: "What should we do? Shall we dig a few more big wells?"

Wang Jian nodded: "It's okay to drill wells. Drilling wells is already on the agenda, but it's useless to drill too many wells. There's only so much groundwater, and there's not much difference between two wells and three wells."

"Then what else can we do?"

"Hey!" Ma Renli said: "I heard that many places in the northwest and central China that are short of water will build water cellars to store water. In those places, there is not much rain throughout the year and there are not many underground water resources, so they can only use water cellars.

Come to collect rainwater. I heard that the storage effect is very good. Even if it is a hot day, the amount of evaporation loss is very small."

"Your idea coincides with mine!" Wang Zhongdao: "Now our water tankers can still pump water, and the water in the weirs and ponds is full. If we build a few water cellars, we can drain the Maixiang River.

The river water is stored in the water cellar. If there is a drought, the crops in the field will not be watered at all."

Niu boldly said: "Didn't the commune say that we would build irrigation canals and directly divert the water from the reservoir to our fields?"

Ma Renli said: "Our commune has dozens of brigades and tens of thousands of acres of land. If it is normal, the water in the reservoir will definitely be enough, but if there is a drought, it will be hard to say! Moreover, the irrigation canal cannot be repaired in a short time.

of."

"Actually, after all, we still have to rely on ourselves." Wang Zhongdao: "If you ask me, this water cellar still needs to be repaired. If there is a drought, this water cellar can save a lot of crops, and even if there is no

If there is a drought, we can turn the water cellar into a fish pond in the future to raise fish."

"Change the water cellar into a fish pond?" As soon as Wang Zhong said this, everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Don't we have a lot of lowlands in our team? The water cellar we built is just to store water for crops, and we don't drink it ourselves, so there's no need to be too particular about it."

"Our ancestors only knew how to make ends meet and did not know how to prepare in advance, so their lives were so miserable. Whenever there was a famine, they would sell their sons and daughters and their fields. Now we are in a new society. Ours

Concepts must also change accordingly, this is called preparing for a rainy day.”

"It's good to make some preparations!" Niu Dadan nodded in agreement, "Even if there is a drought, we can still have a retreat."

"Then will we still press oil this year?" Zhao Youtian asked.

Everyone also looked at Wang Zhong.

"Squeeze! Why not squeeze!" Wang Zhong said: "The leftover oil residue can fill your stomach, and the squeezed oil can be converted into food. No matter how you say it, we won't lose."

The matter of water cellar and oil pressing was thus decided, but the time was postponed until after autumn sowing. Unexpectedly, at this busy time of farming, the county's deputy county in charge of production, Zhang Defu, suddenly asked the whole county to hold a poetry contest.

, and it’s the kind that must be done.

My arms can't hold my thighs, so I have no choice but to do what I'm told.

It's just that the autumn sowing was delayed for another two days, and the villagers complained a lot. Fortunately, this time Ma Renli was forced to take sick leave and stayed in bed, but nothing happened.

In the cafeteria, Wang Zhong, Ma Renlian and Niu Daudao accompanied Zhang Defu and Wang Wanchun to eat.

The staple food is corn tortillas, and the dishes are simple, one scrambled egg and two vegetarian dishes.

The disgust on Zhang Defu's face was undisguised. Even Wang Wanchun was a little embarrassed and glanced at Wang Zhong angrily. His eyes seemed to say: I asked you to do something casually, but you can't do it so casually.

Wang Zhong cupped his hands and said with an apologetic look: "Zhang County, Secretary Wang, the situation this year is not good, the grain production in the fields has been severely reduced, please forgive me! Just have a meal!"

If Zhou Yihu comes, Wang Zhong will not say anything, and the villagers will be willing to put big fish and meat on the table, but who is Zhang Defu? He doesn't do anything serious, and he does all those vain things all day long, which has no nutrition.

If you don't tell me, it will waste time and delay production.

Wang Wanchun glanced at Wang Zhong and hurriedly explained to Zhang Defu: "Zhang County, the weather is hot this year and it hasn't rained much. Most of the young people in the brigade have gone to support the construction of the reservoir. All the brigade in our commune have not

Those who reduce production will suffer heavy losses!”

Wang Wanchun took advantage of the trend and made a bad sell.

"Really?" Zhang Defu felt a little weird, with a strange smile on his face. He turned and glanced at Wang Zhong: "But I heard that the oil pressing workshop of Maixiang Brigade is quite famous. It has been supplying and selling in recent years.

The company provided a lot of oil."

"The oil provided to the supply and marketing cooperatives comes from dozens of brigades in our commune. It is for the convenience of the villagers, and also for the convenience of the supply and marketing cooperatives to purchase and reduce labor costs and time costs. Our brigade has just discussed with the supply and marketing cooperatives. Each brigade

The squeezed oil is first stored in the warehouse of our brigade's oil shop. Buyers from the supply and marketing cooperative come to our brigade regularly to take the oil away. Other brigade companies only need to send people to our brigade to settle accounts regularly. There is no need to specialize.

The organizers push the oil to the county supply and marketing cooperative to increase the cost, and our brigade will charge a token fee for labor and firewood."

"So that's what happened!" Zhang Defu nodded pretendingly. In fact, he had already figured out the secrets here, but he was just looking for an excuse to attack.

"Although the food is a bit crude, the wine is enough!" Wang Zhong said, picking up the opened bottle of Baigan and filling it up for the two of them.

After drinking a few drinks, Wang Zhong took the opportunity to ask: "County Magistrate Zhang, I recently read in the newspaper that the drought in Northeast and Hebei is quite serious. We are in the same situation again this year. Did the meteorological observatory say what it will be like next year?

scene?"

It's a pity that Zhang Defu is not a practical person and doesn't pay attention to these things at all. How can I ask anything useful from his mouth.

"Bah! What the hell!"

Seeing Zhang Defu and Wang Wanchun disappearing from sight while sitting in the jeep, Niu Dadan spat on the ground, gritted his teeth and cursed: "I have known how to do these stupid things all day long. Ever since he came to power, the county has

I have never lived in peace."

Wang Zhong said: "Okay! Say a few words less, I won't be able to hold you back to death."

Ma Renlian, who was next to him, also said: "Be careful that trouble comes from your mouth."

"I'm not stupid!" Niu Bingdao stared at those bull eyes with a look of dissatisfaction: "I just can't understand that guy, a second-rate guy, who climbed up because of his eloquence, and doesn't do anything serious, but knows how to be blind every day.

After all, Qiu Bo is too busy to deal with all these nonsense."

"Even Secretary Zhou can't do anything to him, we can't afford to offend him!" Wang Zhong sighed, sighed deeply, shook his head and turned away.

Ma Renlian looked at Niu DaDang and said: "Da Chong, Da Chong is right. Let's just plant our land well, don't think about what is there and what is not."

After struggling for a long time, the villagers went to the fields again in the afternoon and started working on autumn sowing.

Time passed day by day, and it was almost the end of the year in a blink of an eye. The biting north wind swept across the entire Qilu land, and the Maixiangling area naturally could not escape.

Since the end of summer last year, not a drop of rain has fallen in the entire Maixiang Ridge.

At the west end of the village, at Ma Renli's house, Wang Zhong and Ma Renli were sitting outside the kang playing chess, Jiang Hongguo and Yang Deng'er were knitting inside, and brothers Ziping and Zi'an were squatting in the infant Ma Gongshe.

It's like a new world, I can't get enough of it.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "I heard from Mrs. Jinhua that your family, Zi Ping and Zian, were very obedient when they were little. They didn't cry or fuss at night, unlike my family, who cried and fussed at night.

There is no stopping." Yang Deng'er and Jiang Hongguo poured out the bitter water.

Jiang Hongguo said: "They really didn't cry much at night when they were little. They fed them a meal every night before going to bed, and they slept until the next morning."

"If you have any special tricks, please teach me!" Yang Deng'er looked at Jiang Hongguo expectantly.

"I don't have any special tricks!" Jiang Hongguo said: "Just try to let them sleep as little as possible during the day, and they will naturally sleep more at night."

"When you see that he is about to fall asleep, just hold your hands like this and rub the squeaky area from top to bottom. Do this a few more times and tease him more. If you make him laugh, he will naturally stop falling asleep."

Seeing Jiang Hongguo talking and gesticulating, Yang Deng'er nodded as if he had some understanding.

"General!" In hindsight, a smile appeared on Wang Zhong's face: "Taking care of children is a subject that cannot be explained clearly in just a few sentences!"

Ma Renli was completely out of ideas and hurriedly put the chess piece in his hand in front of Wang Zhong and continued to greet him: "Come again, come again."

"No matter how many games you play, it will still be the same!" Wang Zhong said with a smile: "With your chess skills, you can only bully Niu Daudao!"

Ma Renli was not convinced: "I don't believe it."

Wang Zhong smiled and said: "But your perseverance and your spirit of fighting against repeated defeats are good."

The two rearranged the dishes and started fighting again.

Yang Deng'er and Jiang Hongguo, who were standing next to them, laughed in unison. Ma Renli had been defeated and defeated again and again.

Wang Zhong also wanted to give him a few sons, but Ma Renli refused.

Yang Deng'er suddenly said: "By the way, Da Chong, the medicine you prepared for my father is really good. My father's health has improved a lot recently!"

Wang Zhong kept his eyes on the chessboard: "It's just treating the symptoms but not the root cause. If you don't stop smoking, your father's asthma will never get better in this life."

"Hey!" Yang Deng'er sighed: "But my father won't listen! With his donkey temper, my mother can't stand him."

"I tell you, you can just sell dad's cigarettes quietly and save him from worrying about it!" Ma Renli then came up with an idea.

Yang Deng'er was stunned: "But what if my father makes trouble?"

Ma Renli said: "Then do you think it is more important to make dad happy for a while, or dad's body?"

Wang Zhong raised his eyes and smiled, and said: "Behead first and tell later, and draw fuel from the bottom of the cauldron. You have a lot of tricks up your sleeve."

"Is there any other way to deal with her father's stubborn temper? If you don't kill her first and then punish her, you'll have to take the fire out of the cauldron?" Ma Renli said.

"Although it's a bit extreme, it's a good idea! But it's not good enough." Wang Zhong said: "Deng'er's father is famous in our brigade for his donkey temper. After removing the fuel from the cauldron, he will be recruited to use emotion and reason.

, it is best for Deng'er to hold your commune and cry in front of your father-in-law, as well as your mother-in-law, grandfather and grandson, pear blossoms and rain, begging hard, even the golden cudgel of Sun Dasheng has to be turned into a finger-wrap

soft."

"That's right!" Ma Renli slapped his thigh: "Why didn't I think of this trick?"

"The authorities are confused!" Wang Zhong sighed, and shot down Ma Renli's horse with a cannon.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ma Renli immediately looked regretful: "I was distracted just now."

"No regrets!" Wang Zhong had no intention of giving in.

"Sure, done!" Ma Renli waved his hand.

With his eyes rolling, Ma Renli had an idea, and suddenly he changed his voice and said: "By the way, judging from the current situation, the drought will definitely not be alleviated after the spring begins. What are your plans?"

How could Ma Renli hide this little thought from Wang Zhong: "What else can I do? Just take it one step at a time!"

"If there is a drought, we won't be able to do anything. We will do whatever we have to do then."

Ma Renli said: "Yes, the water cellar has been dug now, and there are a lot of buckwheat seeds stored in the warehouse. If there is a drought, we can plant some buckwheat to get subsidies."

The meteorological station also gave news that there will definitely be a drought after the beginning of spring. The entire Maixiang Brigade has been living in tight conditions this year. In previous years, the villagers were still willing to buy some meat to eat, but this year they even eat less white flour steamed buns.

Although they are reluctant to buy meat, the pigs raised by the team are ready for slaughter.

Although Wang Zhong has never been a butcher, he has experienced so many copy worlds, and his ability to kill pigs and cut meat is no worse than that of those old butchers. Even with Wang Zhong's physical fitness and control that are far beyond ordinary people

Even if you try hard, you will still go beyond the limits.

Of the twenty pigs raised in the village, except for the breeding pigs, none of the other meat pigs were kept. They were all prepared to be killed and none were kept.

Nearly two hundred people in the village, old and young, all gathered in the canteen, boiling water, chopping firewood, and twenty pigs weighing nearly two hundred kilograms were tied hand and foot to a fir tree as thick as an arm.

Wang Zhong and Niu Er, another butcher in the village, have sharpened their pig-killing knives.

Twenty pigs, ten for each person, were stabbed through the neck with a butcher's knife about a foot long. The hot pig blood immediately flowed like a spring, flowing along the butcher's knife into the bucket under the table.

After the blood was drained, they were carried to the side, poured hot water on the leg hair, and used kitchen knives and scrapers. Everyone worked together, and within a few hours, all twenty pigs were shaved clean.

Then it was time to divide the pigs, and this was the time to truly show off his skills. Although Wang Zhong's sword skills were not yet at the level of a cook's knife, they were much more skillful than Niu Er's.

Of these twenty pigs, only two were kept for the villagers' own consumption. The remaining eighteen pigs, after removing the pig heads and pig meat, had to be taken away by buyers from the supply and marketing cooperative who had been waiting nearby for a long time.

There is no way, pork is a material subject to unified purchasing and marketing, and the price purchased by the supply and marketing cooperative cannot keep up with the price it sells, but it is better because there is no risk.

If you directly remove the internal organs and pig head, the speed is still very fast. It only takes more than an hour to get it all done.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Seeing Niu DaBang leading a group of young men to put the fans of pork on the tractor of the supply and marketing cooperative on the platform, the villagers all looked straight with eyes full.

It was distressing, and some of the dolls even kept swallowing their saliva.

The remaining two pig heads and viscera belong to the villagers.

Pork is still distributed according to the number of work points, but it is not a certain time, but the work points throughout the year.

For dozens of families, the two pigs were naturally divided into dozens of pieces, and all the internal organs were divided. In the end, there was a sumptuous pig-killing feast.

The female comrades have already started preparing all the ingredients, the noodles have been woken up in advance, and all the ingredients have been prepared.

Cut the pork into small pieces, mix with shredded cabbage and radish, follow Wang Zhong's recipe, add seasonings, beat in eggs, and mix evenly.

The large steamed buns with clear folds were placed in the steamer one by one. Ma Renlian, the deputy party secretary, who was also known as the vegetable buns, also came out in person. On the stove, the steam was steaming.

The children in the village no longer cared about playing. They stood in front of the stove one by one, looking at the steaming cauldron and steamer, and swallowed in frustration.

On the other hand, Zi Ping and Zi An, two little guys, were quite competitive with Wang Zhong. They each blew up the pig urine bubbles and had a great time.

In just over half an hour, it felt like a century had passed. Watching the adults putting the fragrant pork and cabbage stuffed buns on large grates and placing them in the middle of the dining table, the children couldn't wait to surround them.

On the other side, a pig-killing stew with plenty of oil and water is also ready. It's nothing else. It's also pork, cabbage and radish. The preparation is also simple.

The female comrades who were cooking, the male comrades who were butchering the pigs, and the children and elderly people who were watching all took their seats one after another and gathered around the table.

"Hoo ho!" Wang Zhong took the microphone and blew twice, and said loudly, "Folks, let me say a few words first."

"Although the situation this year is not good, and after next spring, it is hard to say whether it will rain in the afternoon, but we have worked hard for a year, and we must reward ourselves. However, I still want to remind everyone, after eating this meal, go home

From now on, stay in this province and don’t treat it like New Year every day.”

"Brother Chong, don't worry, we all know what's going on."

"Yes, yes! We are not fools!"

Villagers expressed their opinions one after another.
Chapter completed!