Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 313 312 Harvest (please vote for the big chapter)
August 1959, 8, Chinese Valentine's Day, Monday, a cloudless and sunny day.

This is Tang Zhitong’s first day at work after participating in promotion training.

Tang Zhitong was a little surprised. The pumpkin was still alive in the open space of the Escort Department. When he put down his bicycle and went to the office and saw the sacks and first-class items outside each office, he subconsciously felt that he might collect them today.

Since the evaluation of the effectiveness of the national postal code promotion training had nothing to do with the Escort Department, Tang Zhitong put down his personal belongings and wanted to talk to Fangyuan about this first.

"You're here? I figured you have to go to work today. Let's share pumpkins today!" When Fangyuan saw Tang Zhitong, he grinned and gave Tang Zhitong a cigarette.

"No, Brother Yuan, you don't have to wait for me to harvest the pumpkins, right? You can make the decision." Tang Zhitong lit a cigarette for Fangyuan. Food was in short supply, and sharing pumpkins was a matter of showing off. It is best for a top leader to preside over this kind of thing. He is not suitable. Blended.

"It's not just to wait for you. I went to see the old leader two days ago and won an advanced unit with our core." Fangyuan said to Tang Zhitong with a smile.

"Advanced unit? Is it related to the pumpkin?" Fangyuan just said that he was not specifically waiting for Tang Zhitong, so the reason for confiscating the pumpkin is probably related to this. Tang Zhitong asked tentatively.

"Yes! We are ahead of our fraternal units." Fang Yuan beamed. This was an achievement. Being praised made him feel good.

"Well...that's really a good thing." Tang Zhitong was stunned for a moment, then put on a smile and agreed.

"Before harvesting the pumpkins, let's first thank Comrade Tang Zhitong. If he hadn't suggested and taken the lead in cleaning up the construction site, we wouldn't be able to eat pumpkins!" After finishing speaking, Fangyuan took the lead in applauding and stepped aside to signal Tang Zhitong to come forward and say a few words.

Tang Zhitong stood below, with various thanks coming from his colleagues.

"Okay, don't worry, Fang Ke, there will be no mistakes!" With outsiders present, Tang Zhitong's title also changed, but now he felt relieved. It was obvious that Fangyuan had already arranged it. If you don't want to collect it, don't collect it. Accounts are more important than anything else.

"What you said makes sense. I was just thinking about the bad years and fighting for some advanced bonuses with the big guys. I didn't expect this." Fang Yuan's face lost his happiness and sighed, adding: "This is already the case. Now, let’s reduce it... let’s talk about it then.”

Tang Zhitong stepped forward cooperatively, and with some humility and sincerity, he cleared his throat and said: "Thank you everyone for your recognition. At first, I just thought that the open space was idle, but I didn't expect that pumpkins would grow so well. This is inseparable. Everyone's hard work is the result of our joint efforts and unity. Today, the pumpkin harvest is harvested, let Section Chief Fang lead us to share this joy!"

After liberation, most of the newcomers in various units were young people, and most of them were lively in character. In addition, Fang Yuan had promised from the beginning that this batch of pumpkins would be distributed together, so after the ration was reduced, everyone had great expectations for the pumpkins.

"It seems that everyone can't wait, so now! Let's do it together! Harvest! Nan! Melons!" Fangyuan heard everyone's cries. After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he waved his hand and started to harvest the pumpkins!

The third echelon behind the pumpkin-picking colleagues is responsible for transporting the melon vines away from the melon fields and transporting them to the roadside for stacking.

Tang Zhitong smoothed the ledger, prepared for weighing and registration, and looked at his colleagues in the pumpkin field from a distance.

"Hahaha, you are my lucky general!" Fangyuan stood up happily, patted Tang Zhitong's shoulder, couldn't help but pace back and forth, and took out two more cigarettes.

……

All actions were carried out in an orderly manner, and most of them were carried out in units of units. They were obviously arranged in advance.

"Seriously?" Fangyuan was extremely excited upon hearing this.

If Tang Zhitong had a "thank you system", it would probably explode right now.

"Hey, that's really the case." Tang Zhitong thought about it and thought about it. Even if the number of personnel in the escort department was reduced due to advanced reasons, it was the city bureau that came forward, but this task was arranged by the ministry. The city bureau You have to put the overall situation first, right?
"Let's go and collect the pumpkins! Comrades are all looking forward to it. If it's too late, it might poke my spine." Fangyuan didn't sit down anymore and led Tang Zhitong out of the office.

After seeing this, Tang Zhitong was worried that without a director, the pumpkin harvest would be messy, but after seeing some people holding scissors and some holding heads, he felt a little relieved. It seemed that the escort department had made arrangements in advance.

"Hey, this guy, it's okay to give things. If you take the things out, you still don't know what to think of me." Fang Yuan laughed at himself.

While Fangyuan was talking, there were desks, floor scales and other items carried out by colleagues from the escort department.

As soon as Tang Zhitong finished speaking, warm applause erupted from below, accompanied by shouts of "Ao Ao".

After listening to Tang Zhitong's words, Fangyuan was obviously stunned, as if... is this really possible?
"Brother Yuan, I'm overthinking it. There are only 100 people in our department. Even if each person loses another kilogram, it will only be more than a thousand kilograms, and it won't have much effect." Seeing that Fangyuan didn't speak, Tang Zhitong felt that his words were hurtful. When you get to him, quickly go back to find it.

After Fangyuan gave the order, everyone dispersed in an instant.

"Brother Yuan, this is an extra mission." Tang Zhitong lit Fang Yuan's cigarette again and reminded tactfully.

"Well, that's what it said above." Tang Zhitong didn't understand why Fangyuan was happy again, but this matter couldn't be taken off. Given Hao Ren's position and being the person in charge of this matter, the possibility of changing his mind was basically zero.

"There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain. God will not starve the blind sparrow to death. Just take it one step at a time." After Tang Zhitong finished speaking, he felt something was wrong. Not to mention the blind sparrow, the normal sparrow was almost wiped out last year. …

The first row holds scissors and cuts off the pumpkins one by one, shortens the melon vines, and turns the melon vines over.

"You don't need to end the game. Sit here and do statistical work to see how much you can collect this time." Fangyuan saw that Tang Zhitong was showing signs of ending, and immediately grabbed him and made arrangements.

Fangyuan's prestige was here, and everyone had been looking forward to the pumpkin for a long time. Fangyuan shouted, and the staff from each unit immediately came to the small square in front of the escort department.

"Hehe, I know, if you want the horse to run, you have to feed the horse grass, right? Who the hell is going to reduce the ration for the escort department? I'm the first one not to agree! If you don't increase it, you already have a lot of style!" Fangyuan hehe Smiled and said.

"Know!"

A hundred or so people applauded warmly. The rations had been reduced a while ago, and the supply of non-staple food on the street was not sufficient. Although they were not yet hungry, they had already begun to plan their meals. Each meal was only Seventy to eighty percent full.

"Brother Yuan, there is one more thing. I heard news during this training that we may have to participate in the subsequent assessment." Tang Zhitong did not dwell on the pumpkin issue anymore, but conveyed Hao Ren's words to Fangyuan.

"Collect the pumpkins!"

"That's all we can do." Fangyuan was not interested. He didn't hear the flaw in Tang Zhitong's words. He took a deep breath of cigarette and pressed the cigarette butt firmly into the ashtray.

Although the answers were mixed, the joy on everyone's face was the same.

"No. I'm just a little worried. We are all advanced. What if the higher-ups say we should promote our style and let us reduce our quota?" Tang Zhitong still thinks it's better to keep this matter low-key. At this time, it's very useful to think about defeat before thinking about victory. necessary.

"Comrades! Do you know what you are going to do today?" Fangyuan asked the staff of the escort department in front of him cheerfully.

"Yes, today is a harvest day for our Escort Department. We harvest pumpkins and divide them!" Fang Yuan replied affirmatively.

Colleagues at the back lined up to pick up the pumpkins, checking to see if anything was missing.

"What's wrong? Do you think I've taken away your credit?" Fangyuan asked after noticing the difference in Tang Zhitong's expression.

“Split the pumpkins!”

"What I said is not necessarily accurate. Even if the quantity is really reduced, I believe everyone can understand that our pumpkin can be divided at least twenty kilograms per person, right? When we plant another season of cabbage, it will be more than twenty kilograms per person. Which one is more important? If it's a good deal, you can calculate it clearly." At this point, Tang Zhitong could only seek comfort from the law.

The last row are the colleagues from the escort unit, who work the hardest. They hold their heads and are responsible for leveling the melon fields.

The air around the Escort Department is filled with the joy of a good harvest. This joy comes not only from the pumpkins in front of you, but also from the rewards for the hard work of your colleagues.

They were busy in the fields, and everyone's face was filled with smiles of satisfaction and pride.

Occasionally, a breeze blows and the pumpkin leaves rustle, as if telling the joy of harvest.

The gray magpies chirped and sang in the distance, adding a touching melody to the harvest scene.

Most of the people responsible for carrying the pumpkins were girls from the sorting unit. They walked towards Tang Zhitong in small groups holding pumpkins, talking and laughing.

These pumpkins are seeds brought by Tang Zhitong from home. They are all old varieties of the same style. Grandma Tang has called them "green pumpkins" since she was a child.

Ripe pumpkins have dark green skin with white spots, and the tails of some pumpkins will be curved into a thick fishhook shape. The large pumpkins can weigh more than ten kilograms, and the small ones can weigh five or six kilograms.

The girls in the sorting unit gently placed the pumpkins next to the floor scale and walked back laughing, preparing for the second transport.

In view of the different sizes of pumpkins, Tang Zhitong directed his colleagues here to sort and weigh the pumpkins, and then store them separately.

With more people and greater strength, it only took a few hours to harvest a little more than an acre of pumpkins.

Many people did not go away after harvesting. Some went to replace colleagues in the escort unit to dig the ground, some continued to help collect pumpkins in the green belt, and some stood at the weighing area to watch.

Tang Zhitong didn't say anything to chase people away. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have someone to supervise things these days.

"Chief Tang, do you want some help?" A girl from the sorting unit asked boldly while helping to pick up the pumpkins.

"Oh, that's a good relationship. If you were a gay man, I would give you two cigarettes." Tang Zhitong buried his head in counting. After hearing the question, he looked up and started joking in cooperation. Today everyone is Be happy, it’s harmless to make a joke with a lesbian.

"Well, it's a good thing that my grandma didn't come here today, otherwise I would only have to smoke a pack of cigarettes for such a small job." The girl was not afraid of the stage. She also joked with Tang Zhitong, causing everyone around her to burst into laughter.

Nowadays, men smoke, but in fact, many women of the older generation are also heavy smokers.

I don’t know whether this tradition was passed down from the Manchu aunts, or whether it was the sequelae of the foreign culture, but it’s quite a lot.

"Then I don't dare to use it. It's not that I'm short of this pack of cigarettes, but mainly because I'm afraid of tiring the old lady. Sisters, the old lady is eager to help, so let's stop looking at it and lend a hand. Let's finish the weighing as soon as possible. Let's share it as soon as possible. Pumpkin." Tang Zhitong wrote down the latest weighing number, shook his neck, which was a little painful from being bent over the desk, and made two "squeaking" sounds.

"Hahaha, Chief Tang, how much can one person share?" The girls and wives who were watching were not angry when they heard Tang Zhitong's words, and they all came off to help pick up the pumpkins.

"It's not over yet. I'll tell you when it's over. When you pick up the pumpkin, you must handle it with care and be careful not to break the skin. This pumpkin, as long as the skin is not broken, can be put into the Spring Festival. When the time comes, it will be wrapped. After eating dumplings, oh, you can make the neighbor's children cry." Tang Zhitong said as he lit a cigarette, saying that counting is not tiring either physically or mentally.

"Chief Tang, please stop talking, I'm almost crying right now." The young daughter-in-law continued.

"Xiao Tang is a married man. What did he say? He made you cry? You said, I criticized him." Fangyuan walked around and heard the excitement here, so he came over to chat.

Tang Zhitong heard the implication of Fangyuan's words, which was to tell these girls that he was married and should not worry about it.

"Chief Fang, Section Chief Tang said you were saving the pumpkins to make dumplings for the New Year." the young daughter-in-law said, putting down the pumpkin in her hand.

"Make dumplings...Xiao Tang, how many pumpkins can you get from this batch of pumpkins?" Fangyuan was halfway through, and turned to ask Tang Zhitong.

"At least 4,500 kilograms." Tang Zhitong glanced at the number in the ledger, stood up and handed Fangyuan a cigarette.

Fangyuan refused to allow Tang Zhitong to light a cigarette, and signaled Tang Zhitong to hand him his cigarette butt and use it to light the cigarette.

"Don't be greedy and cry. I'm going to quench your thirst today. Let's make dumplings at noon today. Let's eat as many as we want. No tickets!" When Fangyuan heard about the pumpkin production, she felt confident and immediately waved her hand. Arrangements were made.

"The section chief is open!"

"The section chief is loyal!"

...all kinds of praises are endless.

"Xiao Wan, go and tell Master Gao in the cafeteria to come get the pumpkins and make dumplings at noon today. Now let's adjust the fillings. After the weighing is done, everyone will go and help make dumplings. Xiao Zhang, go to the field and let us know. , let the comrades working on the field work harder, eat the dumplings, and plant cabbage in the afternoon." Fangyuan arranged accordingly.

Encouraged by Fangyuan, everyone was very motivated and the work was completed in a short time.

Tang Zhitong pulled the abacus and started to add up. The big pumpkin and the small pumpkin added up to nearly 5,000 kilograms!
Tang Zhitong checked the calculation twice more, and after making sure it was accurate, he took the account book to find Fangyuan.

"Brother Yuan, the data is out, a total of more than 4,900 kilograms." Tang Zhitong handed the account book to Fangyuan, feeling very happy. It was not easy to get this harvest. The land was not fertile. Thanks to Fangyuan planting the pumpkins in the toilet. The management rights were taken back.

Chemical fertilizers are very rare these days. Most of the farmers rely on soil fertilizer to increase production, and a small part rely on plant ash. As for dog meat soup...it's unreliable.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! Now we can finally make up for the ration that we reduced last time!" Although Tang Zhitong had already given him a number just now, after learning the exact output, Fangyuan still said three good words in a row. , the joy is beyond words.

Hearing Fangyuan's words, Tang Zhitong was very emotional. Fangyuan is definitely a good leader. He doesn't take credit for his achievements and only thinks about the benefits.

"Let's divide it in the afternoon. Everyone has been looking forward to it for a long time. It's thirty pounds per person. The rest will be locked up and used for cooking when there are less vegetables in winter." Fang Yuan made arrangements for the pumpkin.

"Okay, we'll split it up in the afternoon!" Tang Zhitong readily agreed.

"Don't you have that second-level certificate? Go to the cafeteria and help Master Gao make the stuffing more delicious. We must have a good time today." Fangyuan didn't look at the account book and handed it back to Tang Zhitong.

"Okay, I'll go over there right now." Tang Zhitong took the account book and turned around to the canteen without saying a word.

Master Gao was worrying about adjusting the stuffing. When he saw Tang Zhitong coming, he was very happy.

It’s hard for a clever woman to cook without rice. The ingredients in the canteen are limited, and Tang Zhitong has no good solution. Fortunately, there are still a lot of green onions, so he can only add more green onions, add as much oil as possible, and then add spices, salt, and cooking oil to enhance the aroma.

The eldest girl and the young daughter-in-law came on stage one by one, making dough, rolling dough, and making dumplings.

And don’t worry that they don’t know how to do it. In this era, making pasta is a necessary skill for a girl before she gets married.

The most indispensable items in the cafeteria may be salt and flour. Although food stamps are already required for meals, there are also certain cares, and flour is supplied most of the time.

As long as employees dine in the canteen, most of them are paid with coarse grain stamps, which can be regarded as a small welfare benefit.

Everyone gathered firewood with a high flame. The eldest girl and the young daughter-in-law moved quickly. They kept making bags here and cooking in the kitchen.

Of course it's best to cook it all at once, but the big pot in the kitchen is not enough, so I have to make do with it.

When eating, you should pay attention to an atmosphere. Although the fillings are not very good, the atmosphere is here, plus there is no money or tickets, everyone eats extremely sweet and satisfied.

After the meal, another portion of browned dumpling soup was served, and the taste was amazing, not to mention how comfortable it was.

Tang Zhitong drank a bowl of dumpling soup and didn't bother to clean his lunch box. He stood up immediately and prepared to divide the pumpkin.

The eldest daughter and the younger daughter-in-law returned to the sorting unit and continued working. Sorting pumpkins was important, but the basic work should not be delayed.

Fangyuan is not here either. Instead, he takes his colleagues from the escort unit to carry water and plant cabbage in the fields.

If an outsider came and saw this situation, they might think it was a farm or a commune!

Master Gao cooperates with the task of dividing pumpkins. He knows how to match large and small pumpkins, and tries his best to get a total of thirty kilograms without splitting half a piece of pumpkin.

This was the whole afternoon, and Tang Zhitong and Master Gao didn't even bother to drink.

After get off work, the pumpkin sharing didn’t stop. This time it was mainly to match pumpkins to the girls in the sorting section.

No matter how late it is, no one wants to miss the matter of collecting wages and dividing pumpkins. When the work is finished, it is already six o'clock, and the remaining pumpkins are placed in the logistics warehouse and affixed with seals. It is already seven o'clock when Tang Zhitong gets off work .

Although he had to work overtime, Tang Zhitong was happy because today he deeply experienced a spirit called "collective sense of honor"!

(End of this chapter)