Chapter 18: The Grand Assembly

“What are you yelling for? If someone comes, what will we do?” Xiao Weiguo smacked Xiao Weijun on the head as he spoke.

“Have you all had enough to eat? Let me repeat: not a soul must know that we ate spare ribs today,” Xiao Weiguo reminded everyone about what must be kept secret after the meal.

Better to avoid trouble than invite it.

“We understand, big brother. Don’t worry,” Xiao Zhaodi replied. The others chimed in as well.

“Alright then, everyone disperse. Next time I go into town, I’ll bring you something again.”

“And remember, if you’re ever truly starving, come to me right away. I have plenty of good things here, so don’t try to tough it out on your own,” Xiao Weiguo addressed them.

His main concern was that they might try to bear hardship in silence, moved by their own sense of sacrifice. Now, as his space continued to develop, he knew there would never be a lack of food in the future.

It would trouble Xiao Weiguo deeply if his brothers and sisters, the ones closest to him, were forced to go hungry at night.

So he made it clear to them now.

At present, apart from his grandparents, he only needed to look after his seven younger siblings.

Should any of them ever betray him, Xiao Weiguo would make sure they understood the consequences.

But for now, all his siblings were well-behaved and sensible, and Xiao Weiguo cherished them deeply.

When prosperous, one may aid the world; when poor, one must focus on oneself.

Xiao Weiguo’s abilities weren’t grand just yet, but he could still keep his closest kin’s stomachs full.

He just needed to be careful, ensuring no one else noticed anything suspicious. Everything had to appear reasonable.

As for his third brother, Xiao Qigong, he was still young, with a stepmother doting on him, never lacking food or drink. For now, Xiao Weiguo didn’t need to worry about him; when he was older, he’d see what kind of person the child became.

After tidying everything away, Xiao Weiguo let everyone go home.

Xiao Hongmei, Xiao Lianxin, and Zhaodi turned and headed up the mountain, baskets on their backs, to cut pigweed.

After all, the family pigs couldn’t wait even a single meal.

Back at home, Xiao Weiguo hid the remaining bowl of spare ribs in the pot. He returned to his room, locked the door, and lay down, intending to nap.

Before sleeping, Xiao Weiguo decided to enter his space once more to check on things.

This was why he locked the door, to prevent anyone from coming in while he was gone.

Once inside, he found the crops and vegetables thriving—bean plants already budding, wheat halfway to maturity.

The two chickens and two rabbits he kept had grown noticeably larger, and the rabbits’ fur was now fully developed.

---

Looking at the remarkable growth speed of both plants and animals in the space, Xiao Weiguo felt both astonished and delighted.

His days of plenty were truly within reach.

He recalled the space novels he’d read in his past life, all featuring a freshness-preserving function. Did his space have such a feature?

That would be a divine blessing.

Without it, the harvests would surely spoil.

Xiao Weiguo decided it was worth an experiment.

He cut off a small piece of pork belly and placed it in a corner of the space, planning to observe it daily to see if it would rot.

After feeding the chickens with cornmeal and the rabbits with duckweed, seeing nothing else needed doing, Xiao Weiguo slipped out and fell sound asleep on his small bed.

He was truly exhausted after a long day.

Toward evening, his grandmother let out a surprised cry, waking Xiao Weiguo from his sleep.

He guessed she had found the bowl of spare ribs.

As expected, soon after, his grandmother knocked quietly at his door. When he opened it, she asked sternly, “My dear grandson, was it you who brought back that bowl of meat?”

“Yes, grandma. It’s just a bowl of spare ribs. They didn’t require ration tickets, and they were cheap, mostly bone with little meat. If you like them, I’ll buy them for you every day,” Xiao Weiguo replied.

“I knew it was you, you little spendthrift!” She smacked his shoulder, and Xiao Weiguo quickly shielded himself.

“Grandma, it’s just a bit of bone. I’ll save money in the future, don’t worry.”

“My dear, this isn’t how you should live. In times of hardship, the money spent on one bowl of meat could buy enough grain to save a life!” she admonished earnestly.

The older generation, having survived the chaos of war, always thought in terms of survival—how to save lives through knowledge.

Frugality and careful calculation were invaluable skills.

Just like nowadays, those who eat leftovers for three days are often old-timers, while the younger generation throws away half a carton of yogurt without a second thought.

It’s only because our material resources are so abundant now.

Enough for 1.4 billion people to waste freely without worry.

The people of this era could never imagine what life would be like in later generations.

Amid his grandparents’ complaints, Xiao Weiguo ate dinner. Most of the meat ended up back with him.

He found it both amusing and exasperating—after all, there were still several pounds of better pork belly hidden in his space.

---

“Iron Ox, Iron Ox, are you there?” After washing the dishes, his grandmother heard someone calling outside.

“Who is it?” Grandfather Xiao Iron Ox called out.

“It’s me, Gonglin. Just here to let you know: tomorrow morning there’s a village assembly at the threshing ground. Everyone must attend, all adults from every household. I’ll go notify the next family now,” said the village chief, Xiao Gonglin.

“What’s the occasion? It’s not the holidays or harvest time—why call a meeting now?” Xiao Iron Ox grumbled.

“Weiguo, you’ll go along tomorrow. After the meeting, you’ll start work,” he said to Xiao Weiguo.

The next morning, after breakfast, all the villagers gathered in groups of two or three and headed to the threshing ground.

Xiao Family Village was a fairly large settlement, about three hundred households and over a thousand people.

Now, the threshing ground was packed, some standing, some crouching, some sitting.

Xiao Weiguo found a large tree at the edge of the ground, swiftly climbed up, and sat with his legs dangling from a thick branch, watching the center of the field.

“Everyone, quiet down!” The village chief, Xiao Gonglin, called out.

“Today, we have Secretary Huang from the town here to announce something exciting. Please, Secretary Huang, speak to everyone.”

“Ahem, hello everyone. My name is Huang Xincheng, the town secretary. I’m here to announce something.

From today onward,

Xingwang Township will become Xingwang People’s Commune. Through organizational elections, I have been appointed as the commune secretary.

Xiao Family Village is now the Sixth Production Brigade, and Comrade Xiao Gonglin, appointed by the commune committee, will serve as brigade secretary and lead you to even better days.

What is the People’s Commune? It is a great family that unites us all.

The old production cooperative model wasn’t unified or organized enough. The commune model will bind everyone in the village—now called the production brigade—together, so all our efforts move in the same direction.

I hope you’ll continue to support Comrade Gonglin’s work in the production brigade. Now, let’s hear from Comrade Gonglin.”

“Actually, our village has always been a single production cooperative. The new People’s Commune and production brigade are basically the same. You’ll still go to work as usual, do what you’re supposed to do. But things will be stricter, and taking leave is absolutely forbidden without cause.

The brigade will be divided into several production teams.

Next, we’ll form the production brigade committee, appointing various roles such as scorekeeper, custodian, accountant, and team leaders.

If anyone is interested, let me know, and we’ll have committee elections.

That’s all—meeting adjourned!”