Chapter 22: Leaving the Brigade

Xiao Weiguo drifted into sleep with a contented smile on his face.

The next morning, when he arrived at the main canteen for breakfast, the crowd was as bustling as ever.

Today’s meal consisted of steamed corn buns, pickled vegetable strips, and a watery cornmeal porridge, made with corn cobs.

Xiao Weiguo instantly lost his appetite. At that moment, Xiao Weijun sidled up and said, “Big brother, today’s meal feels just like what we used to have at home.”

“I still want to eat braised pork!” he complained.

“You got to eat your fill at home, so don’t complain. Eat up and go get another bowl of soup,” Xiao Weiguo replied. Each person was only allowed two corn buns, but the soup could be refilled. He guessed that, before long, even the soup would stop being replenished.

Arriving at the work site, the squad leader gathered the commune members and announced, “Today the brigade has an important announcement. Let’s line up and head to the threshing grounds.”

“Grandpa, what’s the matter now, another big meeting?” Xiao Weiguo asked Xiao Tieniu in the lineup.

“How would I know? Even your Uncle Gonglin is avoiding me, taking a detour if I’m anywhere within eight hundred meters,” Xiao Tieniu replied helplessly.

At the threshing grounds, the crowd was as lively and chaotic as before. Xiao Weiguo looked for the spot he’d stood at last time, only to find it taken, so he had to find another place against the wall.

“...Next, our brigade will organize a support team to assist at the coal mine, and at the same time, we’ll form a blast furnace team...”

Xiao Pingle and Xiao Pingxi were also drafted into the support team. Apparently, the demand for coal had sharply increased, and the mines desperately needed manpower.

Xiao Gonglin personally led the team, nearly a hundred able-bodied men from the village, along with most of the brigade’s livestock and carts, heading out.

It was said they would be gone for several months.

Xiao Weiguo and the other commune members stood by the roadside, watching the support team set off.

In just a short time, blast furnaces rose up everywhere on the threshing grounds.

Meanwhile, Xiao Weiguo was assigned to the logging team, whose task was to fell every tree near the brigade, turning them into firewood for fuel.

At night, lying in bed, he entered the space to check. Both hens and rabbits had hatched chicks and baby bunnies. Seeing this, Xiao Weiguo was delighted and quickly increased their food supply, but noticed they barely ate; they nibbled only at the earth.

The second crop was halfway grown. In a while, he would harvest again.

Accumulating goods like this wouldn’t do; he needed to find a chance to sell them. After all, space was limited, and as supplies piled up, there would be less room for future growth.

To sell things, he would at least need to go to town. Xiao Weiguo pondered how to find an excuse to ask for leave.

Of course, he’d wait until the second crop was harvested, so he’d have more to take.

Now, during the day, he no longer went to the fields, only handled logging and tended the furnaces. The crops in the fields were left unattended, which pained the veteran farmers.

Crops were like the pampered children of the household; only with careful attention and diligent care would they yield rich rewards.

That day, Xiao Weiguo said to the logging team captain, “Captain, I need to go to the coal mine tomorrow to take clothes to my father. I’d like to ask for a day off.”

The captain looked him over and said, “Alright, but make sure you come back soon.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll return right away,” Xiao Weiguo promised.