Liu Weimin was also very sad. One third, isn't that life-threatening?
Several dejected village heads were forced to take a few more educated youths before they left. They were afraid that they would make trouble, so they were told to take them when they left. They had to take them even if they didn't want to.
As a result, several people sat on the ground and cried on the spot.
"Secretary, are you going to drive us to death? We worked so hard to water the crops this year, but the harvest was less than a quarter of that in previous years. We have to pay so much public grain, and we gave it to so many people who eat for free...
Secretary, how do you let us live?"
Once they started, the others couldn't help it. It has only been a few years since they went to the countryside, and there haven't been many problems yet, but it is true that they can't do farm work and divide the rations.
"Secretary, you know the situation of each of our villages.
The crops have been dry since they were planted. We rely on people to carry water from the river with shoulder poles. The crops have been wilting all summer. Nothing has come up. The corn cobs in the autumn harvest are all empty.
You said that one-third is not a small number. What can we pay?
How can the people survive?"
"This summer, ten kilograms of food was eaten by a dozen people for more than a month. The mountains were all bald."
"No one in our village starved to death. A boy was forced to go into the mountains and never came out..."
The secretary of the commune was a man in his forties, with a dark complexion and protruding cheekbones. He was a retired veteran. He limped with his left leg and frowned.
"I know, I know , I know everyone's difficulties. Not only our Xiangyang Commune, but also the entire Anji County and the entire Linbei Province are in a similar situation. I went to the meeting and heard the same news.
Comrades, the country is facing difficulties now. We are guarding the land and forests, which are all natural treasures. We should always have more hope than our worker brothers.
Comrades, I hope everyone can overcome the spirit of not fearing hardship and fatigue, make use of existing conditions, and be self-reliant.
Everyone's hard work is known, and now we are trying to solve it for everyone. Hang on, the difficulties are temporary, and the country's construction still needs everyone to contribute. "
Seeing that these words were dead, there was no way out. Several people also saw that there was no way out. The steps of leaving were heavier, and the eyes looking at the educated youth were not very friendly.
Several educated youth were shocked by the scene just now. Before they could recover, they could only follow their respective village heads blankly.
Liu Weimin always thought that his village was the poorest. Today, when he heard that people in other villages had starved to death, his simple status was instantly raised by two meters.
I was thankful again that I believed Jiandan's words, otherwise, he would be the one who became famous because of this today.
Thinking of this, I felt a little better, and I didn't even think about the worries of paying public grain.
No matter what, the lives of the villagers were saved.
Because of Jiandan, I liked the three educated youths a lot more.
"You little educated youths, do you want to buy anything? The ox cart from the village is here, and you can wait for a while."
The three educated youths, one man and two women, looked at the village chief, who had just argued with reason and was ready to fight, but now smiled at them. They just felt that the village chief was in a bad mood, so they didn't dare to say much, and just said to go to the post office to pick up the package.
Three people, three packages, quickly followed the ox cart.
"Little Jian hasn't come back yet?"
Liu Sanye fed the cow and raised his chin.
"Well, he's not coming back?"
Liu Weimin looked up and saw Jiandan running over with a small backpack on his back.
The fifteen-year-old girl is still a child, with a hint of immaturity.
After taking a glance at the three strangers in the car and the pile of luggage, he roughly understood.
He smiled,
"Uncle village head, Uncle San, huh... I'm not late, am I?"
Uncle Liu San smiled with wrinkles on his face,
"No, no, they just arrived too. Have you finished your business? Come on up, let's go back."
"Okay!"
He simply took off the backpack and put it on, then sat down next to Uncle Liu San, and the old ox walked back competently.
Jiandan is the type who makes small talk.
"Uncle, are we going to work tomorrow?"
Liu Weimin didn't think much about it.
"Take a rest for three days, let the corn stalks air out, and tie them up in a few days. Are you tired of staying here again? Do you want to run to the mountains again?"
Jiandan didn't deny it either.
"I'm thinking, I'm going to stay here anyway, why not pick up some firewood before it snows? Isn't it said that this winter is very cold?"
"Yes, it's very cold. After we finish the work in the fields and your private plots in a few days, it will basically be It's time to stay in the winter, and we really need to pick up more."
"Uncle San, should we go up the mountain?"
"That's right? Xiao Jian, don't worry, wait, the whole village will go up the mountain together in a few days."
"Are we going into the deep mountains?"
Liu Weimin's hands were itching,
"Of course not, it's not that easy to go into the deep mountains, and you should go less, there are all kinds of things there.
If it snows, the hungry beasts in the mountains will come out to look for food, so we can't be careless."
She could tell the good intentions and bad intentions, and simply agreed.
"Hey, Uncle San, you said it's so dry this year, what else can there be on the mountain?"
"Why not? The mountain is different from the bottom of the mountain. The mountain can store water by itself, and with those trees, it's amazing.
When I was a child, I think about it. From spring to autumn, there was really no rain. The crops could only be watched as they were barren. The dry land couldn't be planted, the wells were full of mud, and the rivers were all dry.
There was no way, people had to survive. There were no wild vegetables at all, and there was simply no grass growing.
Later, the villagers went to the mountains. Staying behind meant waiting to die, and there was still a glimmer of hope in the mountains.
Do you know what the first edible thing we saw was?
It was a mouse!
And what about snakes? Spiders, bugs, as long as they see a living thing, they will pounce on it without hesitation, and some can't wait to stuff it into their mouths.
Hungry, hungry, this stomach, it hurts so much that I can't stand it.
We went into the deep mountains, and there are indeed a lot of things inside, even a lot of grown fruits and mountain products, but there are not many people left.
Some were bitten to death by tigers, some were bitten to death by poisonous snakes, some ate poisonous mushrooms, some fell off the mountain, and there was even a person who found a water source and drowned himself in joy. "
Several people listened silently, and finally Liu Weimin sighed deeply,
"What are the names of those young educated youth?"
Several educated youths immediately remembered the scene of showing off their power in the commune, and they were cautious about what they had planned.
The first one to speak was the girl with short hair, who sounded quite cheerful,
"Village head, my name is Li Yan, we are all from Nanshi,"
Then it was the girl who looked quiet, who was also the one wearing the simplest clothes, with patches on the cuffs of her clothes.
"Village Chief, my name is Lin Zhaodi."