Chapter 6 six

We had just made our bunks, and when the dust of the hay was still flying in the mud room, the lame man came again, and said that the captain asked him to take us to dinner. great!Have a meal!There is life in the village.The setting sun in winter radiates golden brilliance in the southwest direction, reflecting brilliantly on the yellow earth walls and patchwork glass windows.The small chimneys on the small earthen houses emit light smoke one by one, and the village is filled with the aroma of absinthe and wormwood.This kind of village living scene, which is completely different from the labor reform farm, as described in folk novels, made me inexplicably excited: no matter whether it is poverty or hardship, I have returned to a normal environment after all!

The kitchen is very small, and it seems that there are not many people working in the kitchen.This worries me a bit: the fewer people there are, the more each person is exploited by the cooks.Fortunately, we are workers now, and we can go into the kitchen to cook.While the cripple—now I know he is the custodian and manager of the team—muttered to the cook about the rations for us to cook, my short-sighted eyes quickly looked around the kitchen : The cage cloth thrown on the chopping board is covered with a lot of scum!In fact, people like "sales department director" are really stupid.They kept blackmailing the family with the saddest words, which made the family panic and panicked, so they tightened their belts and brought them to support them.As for me, since I can't bear to exploit my old mother, I have to use my intelligence.And the food I can get in the current living circle with my intelligence is no less than the postal parcels sent to them from outside.

Four taels per person: a barnyard noodle bun, plus a bowl of cooled pickled vegetable soup.I dawdled with the last meal.I smiled and said to the cook, "I don't want barnyard buns, let me scrape the cage cloth." "Okay," the cook gave me a surprised look, and handed me a rice shovel, "Scrape if you want." A can of steamed bun dregs.According to the weight, at least one catty! "Ancestors have spirits!" Although it smells like steamed pot water, it is still delicious! Only free people can enter the kitchen to scrape the scum.It's good to be free!

After dinner, the captain came with a lantern for us. "Everyone is here? Just come, just come!..." He fumbled for matches on him.I walked over immediately, helped him carry the lantern, lit it, and then took the lantern and hung it on top of my head—half of the lantern was mine!The labor reform life without foreign aid has tempered my ingenuity, and the "directors of the sales department" who survived relying on foreign aid can only rely on their backing. "Captain, let's just sleep casually like this?" The "Director of the Sales Department" lying at the door wanted to change the status quo. "Sleep wherever you want, sleep wherever you want..." The captain sat down, crossed his legs on his grass bed, and didn't understand his intention.

"Captain, is there a better house?" The lieutenant, who had been on the Korean battlefield, said dissatisfiedly, "This house doesn't even have a kang." "Let's live together, it's home, I have to clean it up." The captain was a little displeased.He is a skinny middle-aged man, and he introduced himself as Xie.Under the dim light of the horse lantern, he was stubbled and tired, wearing a patched cotton cadre uniform. He said: "If you want to sleep on the kang, you have to take off the face of the kang. In this winter, the face of the kang that you take off is not strong. Let's talk about it in spring."

That is to say, we will not be able to sleep on the kang until spring.And in spring, you can sleep without a kang.Several people asked Captain Xie how to write a letter here?Where is the field department?When does the Human Security Section open?Who should I contact for the transfer of account?Captain Xie soon knew that these people were not going to work here.He turned his gaze to me.I sat in the shade under the base of the lantern.He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Hey, Xiao Gazi, what's your name?" "Zhang Yong! Can't wait to feed the scorpion, move it to the vat to eat * He looked at the piece of paper in his hand with difficulty by the light.

"Your family is in Beijing? Are you only twenty-five years old?" "In Beijing. Yes, just turned twenty-five." "You are the only one who is young. Why? Do you want to go back too?" "I won't go back." "Okay, if you don't go back, just stay here and work hard." Captain Xie was happy, and said kindly to me, "This Da'er is not bad, it's better than where you stayed before. Supply, twenty-five catties of grain a month, and two packs of cigarettes. Salary, 18 yuan for the first grade, 21 yuan for the second grade...you get 18 yuan first, and work for half a year. Talk..." "Yes, yes..." I nodded my head in satisfaction.The others leaned on their bedding and listened stoically.The dull light illuminated their faces like expressionless masks.Actually, there's nothing to be happy about here.The only thing better than labor reform farms is wages.And eighteen yuan can't buy ten catties of yellow radishes in this difficult period, and there is no clothes here.

The food ration is the same as that in the labor camp, with seven deductions and eight deductions, and the real food is at most 20 catties (25 catties per month is almost enough under normal conditions, but when there is no non-staple food, oil, vegetables and every day If you have to do physical work, you can try eating for a month! And I have been like this for many years. In 1960, the ration was even lower, only 15 catties per month).What I am satisfied with is that he intentionally avoided the word "reform through labor team" when he spoke. Captain Xie fumbled around in several pockets to take out a bunch of cigarettes, distributed two packs to each person, and charged each person a dime and six cents: "Pisces brand", eight cents a pack.Great!These are real cigarettes, not sunflower leaves, cabbage leaves, eggplant leaves... such substitutes.Cigarettes are almost as important to me as food.But I saw that the non-smoking "sales department director" also had a job, and I couldn't help feeling jealous.When you get addicted to smoking, he will "give" it to you at a high price of 20 cents a piece.After all, the principle of egalitarianism has disadvantages!

"Eat at nine o'clock every day, start work at ten o'clock, and finish work at four o'clock in the afternoon. It's winter, and there is nothing to do. You go to work tomorrow, and you can rest until the rest day..." Captain Xie stood up, patted his buttocks and asked Walk.Instead of saying Sunday, he said "day off", but he didn't know which day counted as "day off". "Captain, there is no kang, can we build a stove? This room will freeze to death at night." The lieutenant made another special request while wrapping himself up under the blanket.This collective needs such a person! "The stove needs to be built. A few pieces of adobe will do. But the public house only has bituminous coal and no dry charcoal." Captain Xie put his hands on his sleeves, and he also felt cold, "There are still windows, so we need to paste them. Go to the office tomorrow morning." Get some old newspapers, and then go to the kitchen to get some rice." "I can build a bituminous coal stove." I volunteered.I have two stores of barnyard flour buns, and are still willing to do heavy work.

"Oh? That's not the same as a stove that burns dry charcoal." Captain Xie looked at me in surprise, "Well, you'll stay at home tomorrow, and the stove will be built, and the windows will be glued... oh, By the way, you have to have a team leader. In my opinion, it’s just Zhang Yong!