Chapter 368: A Plea for Help from Shuangtian Village

Zhou Yimin was waiting in Zhoujiazhuang for the people delivering the plastic film. Unexpectedly, instead of the delivery, Village Chief Liang from Shuangtian Village and Liang Zan showed up.

They were all familiar faces, so the Zhoujiazhuang security team at the village entrance didn’t stop them. Instead, they greeted them warmly, “Chief Liang, here to see the old Party Secretary?”

“That’s right. Is Secretary Zhou in the village?”

“He is—probably over at the greenhouses by the river.”

Upon hearing this, Chief Liang led Liang Zan in that direction.

He’d visited Zhoujiazhuang several times before, so he knew the way.

He really had no choice. Ever since the reservoir in Zhoujiazhuang was completed and 50 laborers had returned to the village, the food situation in Shuangtian Village had become increasingly dire. If they didn’t find another solution soon, it wouldn’t be long before they faced a food shortage. And the next harvest was still a long way off. If they didn’t come up with something, people in the village might actually starve to death.

Especially now, with the cold weather, people got hungry even faster.

At first, Chief Liang had organized villagers to go hunting in the mountains, but the results weren’t great. The little game they caught had all been made into cured meat and wouldn’t be used unless it was truly an emergency.

He had even planned to use some of that cured meat to barter for grain with Zhou Yimin. After all, they couldn’t keep borrowing food forever, and it’s not like Zhoujiazhuang’s grain grew on trees.

So this time, he came over thick-skinned, even though Zhoujiazhuang had already helped them once. Coming back so soon to ask for help again—he wouldn’t have done it unless he truly had no other option.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the greenhouses and, sure enough, spotted Zhou Yimin and the old Party Secretary with the brigade leader.

Chief Liang immediately felt something was off—why were all of Zhoujiazhuang’s “important figures” gathered at the greenhouses? Was there something big going on here?

Looking around, he saw Zhou Yimin, the old Party Secretary, and the brigade leader all waiting.

There was no point speculating—he needed to step forward.

Sharp-eyed, Zhou Yimin spotted them from a distance.

“Old Secretary, look who’s here.”

“Looks like the man who’s here to help us solve a problem has arrived.”

Following Zhou Yimin’s gaze, the old Secretary saw Chief Liang and Liang Zan. He recognized both of them—old acquaintances.

The moment he saw them, he more or less guessed why they had come.

Still, he greeted them warmly, “Chief Liang, you should’ve let us know you were coming so I could meet you at the village entrance!”

“Oh, no, Secretary Zhou, don’t blame me for showing up uninvited.”

Asking for help, he didn’t dare expect to be welcomed. It was already good enough they weren’t turned away.

The old Secretary got straight to the point. “Chief Liang, what brings you to see me today?”

Though he had a good idea already, it was better to let the other party bring it up themselves. Otherwise, it would sound like he was the one making the request.

“Old Secretary, Shuangtian Village is in trouble. Could we borrow some grain? Our village is running out and can’t hold on much longer,” Chief Liang said, stating his purpose.

The old Secretary said calmly, “Chief Liang, it would be difficult to lend grain—we don’t have much ourselves.”

“Is that so? Then sorry to trouble you.” Chief Liang looked disappointed.

He turned to leave with Liang Zan, hoping to try his luck in another village.

But the old Secretary grabbed his arm. “Chief Liang, don’t be in such a hurry—I haven’t finished speaking.”

Chief Liang’s disappointment turned into sudden hope, but he didn’t speak, afraid to interrupt the old Secretary again.

The old Secretary said unhurriedly, “Although we can’t lend you grain, the commune recently rewarded our village with twenty spots for the reservoir construction project. We don’t need them all, so we can give them to your village.”

Chief Liang lit up. Though he couldn’t get grain, getting twenty people into the reservoir project meant twenty fewer mouths to feed back home. Their food could last that much longer.

Then he asked, “Old Secretary, what exactly did your village do to earn a reward from the commune?”

Everyone knew the commune was notoriously stingy. It’d be easier to meet a Soviet expert than to get benefits from them.

“It’s nothing much—just our chick incubation room. The commune wants to promote it, so they gave us a small reward. Not worth mentioning!” The old Secretary waved his hand as if it were no big deal.

But the smug smile on his lips was harder to suppress than an AK.

Everyone there could tell he was showing off in a humblebrag sort of way.

Still, Chief Liang was no slouch either. “Impressive, very impressive! Secretary Zhou, you’re really something, getting recognition from the commune!”

Liang Zan watched his uncle showering compliments and barely recognized him. In his eyes, his uncle was always strict and serious—he had no idea he could act like this!

The more Chief Liang spoke, the more exaggerated it got, to the point even the old Secretary started to feel a little embarrassed.

“Chief Liang, we’ve got some projects in our village that need more hands. Do you think your village could spare a few more people?”

Chief Liang felt like he’d just won the lottery. He hadn’t expected such a windfall—his village had about a hundred households, and now sixty people were going to the commune’s reservoir project. If he pushed it, he could probably spare another fifty to help out in Zhoujiazhuang.

That would drastically ease their food crisis.

“We can send over fifty more to help out in Zhoujiazhuang. Would that be enough?”

He wished he could send the whole village over—then he wouldn’t have to worry about food at all. But the village still had its own tasks to complete. If they didn’t finish those, they’d be in trouble. So some people had to stay behind for farm work.

And to avoid damaging their relationship with Zhoujiazhuang, they definitely couldn’t send over the elderly, children, or anyone too weak to work—they couldn’t just come over to freeload.

“Good. It’s a bit fewer than ideal, but it’ll do.” The old Secretary nodded slightly.

Chief Liang was surprised that fifty still wasn’t enough. Looks like Zhoujiazhuang had something big planned again.

Actually, his village could spare more, but he was afraid if he sent over people who were slackers or troublemakers, Zhoujiazhuang would look down on them and not invite them for future opportunities.

“Alright, old Secretary. When should we send the people over?”

Looking up at the electrical wires overhead, he felt a pang of envy. In a ten-mile radius, Zhoujiazhuang was the only village with electricity—thanks to the small power station they built themselves. And they didn’t even have to pay for electricity.

“Have them start tomorrow. The pay and treatment will be the same as last time,” said the old Secretary.

Chief Liang replied, “Alright. I’ll go back and make arrangements. Fifty people will arrive at Zhoujiazhuang on time tomorrow.”

After he finished speaking, he kept glancing at Zhou Yimin, as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating.

The old Secretary noticed and said, “Brigade Leader, let’s go take a look over there.”

Though confused, the brigade leader still followed the old Secretary’s instructions.

(End of Chapter)