Chapter 145: Harvesting Food and Preserving Grain

Chapter 145: Harvesting Food and Preserving Grain

Chapter 145: Harvesting Food and Preserving Grain
After Li Kailang left Director Lu, he drove hurriedly to complete the task.

The workload was already heavy at the beginning of the month, and there was a day's worth of tasks piled up, which made the situation even worse.

The drivers had no time to rest and were driving around the whole day.

It was not until the afternoon that Li Kailang completed today's tasks and finally had the leisure to take a look at the scenery outside.

He admired the scenery of the suburbs along the way and saw farmers harvesting winter wheat in the fields on both sides of the road.

The fields are golden and the busy farmers create a picture of a peaceful and prosperous country.

Behind this seemingly peaceful scene lies an impending crisis.

"After this harvest, famine will begin!" Li Kailang murmured to himself.

"Change cannot be changed, we can only prepare in advance and protect ourselves."

This year is also the most bumper year since the 50s, with various grain crops having seen significant increases compared to last year.

But this cannot conceal the coming famine.

This famine was the result of the combination of time, place and people, and it cannot be changed by human power.

"When we get back, tell the Cui family, Master, and Senior Brother to prepare some food in advance while there is plenty of food now."

As he spoke, Li Kailang drove back to the steel rolling mill, handed over the task, and then returned to the courtyard.

Li Kailang didn't plan to tell them now, it was too early to tell them now.

The production team had a bumper harvest, but he said there would be a famine. Who would believe it?

It would be better to wait for two months and see the harvest in the fields before making any plans. By then, the food supply will be saturated and there will be no rush to buy some food.

The next day, Li Kailang received the task.

"Li Kailang, Zhang Fen, and Niu Qiping, your mission today is to go to the countryside to help transport grain to various villages," Zhang Jinwu ordered.

Niu Qiping is another apprentice in the same group as Zhang Fen who passed the driving test.

"You will have to listen to Li Kailang for this mission. He is an experienced driver. I hope you will cooperate with him."

"This is your first mission, I hope you can complete it successfully." Zhang Jinwu said expectantly.

Li Kailang took the task list and found that this task was indeed simple.

They needed to load the grain harvested by the production team onto trucks and then transport it to the grain station.

"Didn't the rural areas deliver the grain to the grain stations themselves in the past? Why do they want us to deliver it this time?" Zhang Fen asked puzzledly.

Li Kailang could guess a little about this.
"It must be a bumper harvest of grain in the countryside. They can't transport it themselves, so they asked us for help."

Hearing this, Niu Qiping was somewhat delighted. It would be good to have more food!
"The harvest in the countryside must be very good today! Otherwise they wouldn't have come to us with three large trucks."

"It's definitely a lot, but we don't just serve one village. The surrounding villages also need our help in transportation."

As he spoke, Li Kailang pointed to the contents on the task list.

The mission involved more than a dozen villages, and the entire day was spent transporting food.

"Okay, let's go to the production team first. Today's workload is quite a lot. Let's finish the transportation quickly and go home quickly."

Li Kailang didn't even look at them any further and took the two of them for a drive.

Zhang Fen and Niu Qiping also have their own trucks.

At first glance, Zhang Fen and Li Kailang both had GAZ-51, while Niu Qiping had Liberation CA10.

This is the first car independently developed by China.

Of course, Niu Qiping’s Jiefang CA10 was not a new car. It took more than two years for it to be delivered to him.

However, this vehicle has a greater safe load capacity than the GAZ-51, and is obviously much safer than Gu Shengli's GAZ-69.

"I told you, there are only a few days at the beginning of the month, and there won't be any easy tasks!" Zhang Fen muttered to himself.

He had just gotten his driver's license and thought things would be easier, but he didn't expect to face such a heavy task right away.

This is even more tiring than what Li Kailang did back then. At least Li Kailang only drove for half a day back then.

They walked along the road in the suburbs and found that there was already a long queue waiting to deliver food.

Ox carts, donkey carts, and horse carts pulling carts full of grain were lined up in a row, heading towards the grain station.

Seeing this, Li Kailang became more certain of his guess that the rural areas had a bumper harvest of grain.

They first went to Qinjia Village, the village closest to Sijiu City.

Village chief Qin had already piled up the grain and was waiting for the trucks from the steel mill to come and help transport it away.

Looking at the piles of golden grains, Village Chief Qin was also very happy.

A bumper grain harvest means that villagers can get more food.

"Village chief, the car is here!" said the villager with sharp eyes immediately.

Suddenly, everyone looked forward to the truck coming from a distance.

"Please clear the road. Everything is ready. Load the food when the truck arrives." Village Chief Qin ordered.

"Boom--" The roar of the truck was getting closer and closer, and soon it drove in front of everyone.

"Village Chief Qin!" Li Kailang stuck his head out and shouted, then got out of the car.

"Master Li, why are you here?" Village Chief Qin asked politely.

"I'm here to help you transport the food. What? You don't need our help?" Li Kailang joked.

"Yes, yes, yes. We still have plenty of food. Please don't refuse to help us." Village chief Qin pretended to be anxious.

"Okay, stop joking and load it into the car first." Li Kailang said seriously.

Village chief Qin waved his hand and the villagers began to load food.

"Why are there so many women here? There are only a few men." Niu Qiping asked.

They have to be on the road all day today, and he wants to transport all the food back home as quickly as possible. Women cannot load food as fast as men.

Hearing this, Village Chief Qin explained, "All the men in the village went to the grain station early in the morning to carry grain. Now only these young men are left at home."

"With so much food, I don't know how long it will take for these young men to move it." Niu Qiping muttered.

Hearing this, Village Chief Qin replied, "Yes, so I would like to ask Master Li if you can help me transport it again?"

"Village Chief Qin, what do you mean?" Li Kailang asked.

"We have a lot of food. We can't transport it all in one day. If you help us transport more food, we can have some relief."

"Well, it's possible, but you have to wait until I have transported the goods to other villages. If I have time, I will help you with it." Li Kailang replied.

After all, I bought live pigs here, so it would be unreasonable not to help.

"Can't you be flexible and help me transport it again?" said Village Chief Qin.

Transporting food cannot be completed in a day or two. It takes most of the day to transport food over a distance of more than ten or twenty kilometers, and it is only possible to transport food only a few times a day.

If the grain is not dry yet, it has to be dried again, which delays another day.

As soon as the grain is transported, it is the slack season for farmers. Every day of rest is precious. Farmers only have a few days of rest throughout the year.

Li Kailang said helplessly: "Village Chief Qin, you have to understand me. I have a mission to accomplish. I can't just help with the transportation for your village."

"Besides, your village is so close to the grain station, so it won't be a problem to transport the grain there. We have to consider the villages behind us, as they are far away from the grain station."

Finally, he added: "Don't worry, as long as I have time, I will definitely help you transport it."

Hearing this, Qin Cun also felt that what Li Kailang said made sense, and looked at Li Kailang with a helpless expression.

Village chief Qin knew that if he continued to push the issue, the other party might not even help him. This would be bad. The pig he had bought with favors would be wasted.

Village chief Qin took advantage of the situation to get off the hook.

"Okay, then I'll listen to Master Li. If you have time, you have to help us!"

"Don't worry, Village Chief Qin!"

While the two were talking, the carriage was filled with food.

"Is all the food loaded?" Li Kailang shouted.

"It's ready. Look, the car is full!" said a young man.

"Okay, send three people to get in the car and go to the grain station with us." Li Kailang ordered.

They deliver the food to the grain station and leave after unloading. It is impossible for them to stay there and guard their food, delaying the progress of their mission.

When they heard about getting on the bus, everyone looked around, as this was when they had the best chance of getting on the bus.

"You three, get in the car. Remember not to make any noise in the car."

Village Chief Qin directly ordered the three young men to get in the car.

Hearing this, the other female villagers were a little disappointed. They also wanted to get on the bus, but Village Chief Qin had already made the decision and they could not refute it.

Although women hold up half the sky, the actual situation is somewhat biased.

Li Kailang didn't care about these little things and asked everyone to get in the car.

On the way, the young man excitedly stuck his head out to enjoy the breeze and shouted loudly, but Li Kailang did not stop him. They soon arrived at the grain station, unloaded the grain, and went to the next village without rest.

Just like Qinjia Village, after delivering to one village, it takes the whole morning to deliver to the next one.

Li Kailang and the other two came to Wangjia Village, planning to have a meal here, rest for a while, and then send it off.

After all, they are also human beings. After transporting for so long, Zhang Fen and Niu Qiping are a little exhausted and need to slow down.

"Master Li, you came at the right time! It's dinner time!" Village Chief Wang said in surprise.

"I came here at this time on purpose. I hope I won't disturb you." Li Kailang apologized.

"No, no, Master Li, you guys must be hungry too. We just prepared the meal. How about eating here?" Village Chief Wang invited.

"Then we won't be polite."

"You're welcome, hahaha!"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"You guys take a rest first, I'll go get you some hot meals." said Village Chief Wang.

"Thank you for your help." Li Kailang thanked.

After a fierce tug of war, Li Kailang brought Zhang Fen and Niu Qiping to his "exclusive" house.

Of course it wasn't actually his.

Li Kailang sometimes passed by Wangjia Village at noon and would rest here for a while, and then return to the factory to transport supplies in the afternoon.

It doesn't delay anything and allows them to rest. Over time, the villagers have become accustomed to Li Kailang coming to this house.

"Master Li, how come you are so familiar with the people here?" Niu Qiping couldn't help but ask.

Li Kailang smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just come here often. After a long time, we will become familiar with each other."

"When you bring supplies here in the future, it would be best if you could establish good relations with these villages. This would save you a lot of trouble."

"You see, just like now, we can just find some food in the village instead of cooking it ourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, Village Chief Wang brought two people into the room. They were holding some food in their hands, but there was no meat in the food.

"The food is a little simple. They are just some home-cooked dishes in our village. I hope you don't mind." Village Chief Wang said to Zhang Fen and Niu Qiping.

Li Kailang has come here so many times that he has gotten used to it.

"Don't mind! Don't mind! As long as I have a hot meal, I wouldn't mind anything!" Zhang Fen said quickly.

"That's good, you guys eat first, I won't disturb you anymore!" After saying that, Village Chief Wang left.

"Okay, stop standing there and eat quickly. Take a quick rest after eating because there are still many things waiting for us to do in the afternoon." Li Kailang urged.

The farther away from the grain station, the longer it takes them to transport the goods back and forth.

I don't know if I can finish it in an afternoon, so there's no time to waste.

After a simple meal, Li Kailang wiped his mouth and walked outside.

"Master Li, where are you going? Do you want us to follow you?" Niu Qiping asked.

"No, you guys eat your food and then take a rest. I have something to ask the village chief."

After hearing this, Niu Qiping didn't ask any more questions and continued eating.

At this time, Village Chief Wang had also finished his meal and was waiting for Li Kailang to arrive.

After some simple pleasantries, Li Kailang stated his purpose.

"Village Chief Wang, how is the harvest in your village? How much grain do we need to hand over?" Li Kailang asked.

Hearing this, Village Chief Wang thought Li Kailang was looking for him to buy food, so he replied enthusiastically:

"Master Li, our village has a really good harvest, and we have a lot of food. I can leave some for you."

Li Kailang and Wangjiacun have been doing business for more than two months and are familiar with each other, so they can take care of this matter.

"That's not necessary. I am a driver after all, and I have enough food."

"What does Master Li mean by this?" Village Chief Wang was puzzled.

"Does Village Chief Wang plan to stockpile more food?"

"Stockpile food? Today's harvest is so good, why would we stockpile it? Besides, every household in our village has stockpiled a lot of food."

Village chief Wang laughed as he spoke, saying that today's harvest in their Wangjia Village was indeed good. After paying the public grain tax, every household had a lot of food.

If you want to stock up more food, you have to exchange it with centimeters, which is only a few dozen yuan in a year. If you stockpile food, you won't have much money.

Besides, if you hoard food, it will become stale food next year.

It was impossible for Li Kailang to tell them directly that there would be a famine next year and that after this harvest, there would be no more good harvests.

"Well, as the saying goes, if you have food in your hands, you will not be worried! Now the harvest is good, so we can store more food to deal with emergencies." Li Kailang sighed.

"This year, not only your Wangjia Village has a good harvest, but other villages have the same harvest."

"You pay about the same amount of public grain as them, so it doesn't matter if it's a little more or a little less."

Village Chief Wang said helplessly: "This is not easy to do. Our village's production has been reported, and the harvest must be submitted according to the quota."

"It's not that hard to do. Isn't the harvest good today? This target can be easily achieved."

"As for the reported production, you can say it was a mistake when the time comes."

"By the way, didn't you say that there were too many pigs in the pigsty? When there's less food, you can just say that the pigs ate it. That way you can have an explanation."

Food distribution follows three steps, namely: "pay enough to the state"; "leave enough for the collective"; and "distribute the rest according to the rules"!
Li Kailang asked Village Chief Wang to do the secret operations in order to "leave enough for the collective."

“Leaving enough for the collective” means reserve grain for the rural areas’ own use.

It includes: seeds, feed for cattle, horses, donkeys and mules, and hospitality food.

The secret operation involves the feed for cattle, horses, donkeys and mules.

"As long as you meet the target, no matter what others say, you are the village! You can't just watch the villagers starve."

Although Li Kailang's reason is a bit far-fetched, it is indeed a reason.
After hearing what Li Kailang said, Village Chief Wang also began to be moved.

It would indeed be a good thing if we could achieve the above targets and intercept some food.

However, doing so might lead to criticism from superiors and bad reputation.

But compared with the interests of the villagers, none of this matters.

"Village Chief Wang, you have to think about this carefully. Think about the hard times our village went through. We were short of food and clothing, and everyone had a very hard time!"

Li Kailang said this solemnly, as if he was talking about a serious topic, and he was just about to mention the famine next year.

Li Kailang's words reminded Village Chief Wang of the situation in the past when the villagers were suffering from hunger and cold.

At that time, they were struggling for a little bit of food every day, and sometimes they even went to bed hungry.

He struggles for basic survival every day, and he doesn't want to go through that kind of hard life again.

"Okay, I'll listen to you. It's just a word, it's not as important as everyone else!" Village Chief Wang gritted his teeth and said firmly.

Hearing this, Li Kailang smiled slightly and finally managed to persuade him.

The farmers' lives were extremely difficult for the next three years, but they could live a better life with the stored grain.

Normally, it would be impossible for Village Chief Wang to be persuaded so easily by Li Kailang. After all, he is the head of the village, so it would not be that easy.

But Li Kailang talked about everyone's miserable lives in the past, and everyone wanted to take precautions and be prepared for any eventuality, so they listened to him.

But of course there was also the reason of a good harvest. If there was not a good harvest, he would not dare to withhold the grain.

"But, all the food for today has been transported there. It's not enough." Village Chief Wang said with difficulty.

"Just give it today. There's still tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It can be less."

"When the time comes, we can just find an excuse to get away with it. As long as the target is completed, it will be fine," said Li Kailang.

"That's right!" Village Chief Wang suddenly realized.

"Okay, help me load the food into the car first. I have a lot of tasks to do today and don't have much time to chat with you." Li Kailang said.

"Yes, yes, your mission is more important. By the way, do you want me to fill it up or not this time?"

"Nonsense, of course it's full! The target hasn't even been reached yet, and you want to transport it a few more times." Li Kailang said unhappily.

No matter what, we have to complete the target first.

After the food was loaded onto the truck, Li Kailang didn't rush to leave and took a rest first.

After you have rested, fill up the gas and set off again.

Li Kailang also gave subtle advice to the following villages. Most of them listened, but some did not.

Li Kailang didn't try to persuade him any further.

Things have come to this point, and he has done everything he can.

(End of this chapter)