Chapter 671 Heading to the Meeting Site
As he was talking, there was a sound of "dong dong" footsteps in the yard, followed by the door creaking open, and Shuzhuo walked in, feeling cold, with a piece of grass stained on his trouser leg.
"Director Song, Director Liu."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Everyone who needs to be notified has been notified. Everyone has stopped what they are doing and is gathering under the big locust tree in the threshing ground. No one is left out."
Director Song smiled and handed over a cup of hot water, saying:
"Thank you for your hard work. When the meeting starts later, tell everyone about the brick factory's dividend distribution. Just tell them what Jianguo said in the letter: the more you work, the more you get. Work points can be used as shares to distribute dividends."
Director Liu patted his thigh, suddenly stood up and said:
"I'll go get the old blackboard from the warehouse and draw a rough plan of the brick factory so the villagers can see what we're going to do."
He walked to the door and turned back to add:
"Oh, by the way, let's be more honest and not use those flowery words, which are hard for people to understand."
"Let's say we want to set up a 'machine-assisted' brick factory, which is several times faster than the pure manual brick making of the older generation."
Director Song felt more at ease when he saw the two busy figures running around.
He took out his pipe from his pocket and took two puffs. The smoke was filled with the simple smell of dry tobacco.
The moon outside the window gradually rose, casting a clear light on the roofs of the three adobe houses, as if laying a layer of silvery hope for the soon-to-be-started brick factory.
Wang Jianguo tied up the last pile of documents and looked up at the horseshoe clock on the wall. The pointer at a quarter past seven looked cold and white in the morning light that seeped in through the window.
"time to go."
He gently patted the dozing Director Liu, who suddenly woke up with a start, and the blackboard on his shoulder shook so hard that the iron frame creaked.
Director Song stuffed a bunch of wild chrysanthemums into the enamel jar and casually closed the lid:
"Mr. Zhao from the front street has a weak leg. He must still be wandering on the road."
The four of them walked out on the frosty dirt road, the ice crystals on the grass making crunching sounds. Wang Jianguo's canvas bag brushed against the acacia trees, and the white frost that fell off fluttered down his trouser legs.
There was a sound of wooden barrels colliding in the distance. Widow Zhang, wrapped in a blue headscarf, and the tiger boy in her arms poked his head out:
"Director Liu, my kid wants to watch the fun!"
Before he finished speaking, Li Laosan came up from behind carrying an empty dung bucket, and his shoulder pole trembled with tiny golden lights.
The locust tree was dim in the morning mist, and the slogan "Work hard" on the trunk was missing a corner. Director Liu suddenly pointed to the distance and laughed:
"Look, old Yugong is coming over here!"
Uncle Zhao was leaning on a crutch and was being supported by his grandson to move towards this side, taking a break every two steps.
Zhao Shuzhuo took out his aluminum lunch box and knocked on the tree trunk, startling a few sparrows:
"Hurry up, folks! Move the people sitting on the millstones to the middle!"
Dust rose up from the dirt road in the east, and three 28-inch bicycles came wobbling over, the enamel pots in the baskets clinking.
The leading man braked his car under a locust tree, the tires rolling over frost.
"Are you not late? We took a shortcut!"
Zhao Shuzhuo recognized Lao Zhang, a bricklayer from the neighboring village. He took the tool bag from his shoulder. The strap was worn white and the red words "Serve the People" were faintly visible.
People gradually gathered under the big locust tree.
Widow Zhang sat on the stone mill holding Hu Wa, while Li Laosan's daughter Er Ni squatted on the ground to help Uncle Zhao tie his shoelaces.
When the four of them hurriedly walked along the scorching dirt road to the Dahuaishu Rice Field, the sun was hanging obliquely above the treetops, casting fine light on the golden rice ears.
The originally empty rice field has been tidied up by Zhao Shuzhuo and a few young men:
A simple sunshade was erected with bamboo poles under the old locust tree on the inner side. A few fresh locust leaves were still sticking to the edge of the blue-gray oilcloth, swaying gently in the breeze.
The villagers gathered in twos and threes, holding a variety of small stools in their hands - including old-fashioned square stools in natural wood color.
There were low stools with plastic patterns, and some people had simply moved their bamboo chairs from home. At this moment, they were fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans and whispering to each other while looking at the center of the field.
In the open space in the front, four old tables with peeling paint were put in a row. The tabletops were wiped shiny with a wet rag, and the shadows of the trees could be vaguely reflected.
Zhao Shuzhuo rolled up his shirt sleeves and was bending over to adjust the position of the table, revealing the faded red rope on his wrist.
Following behind him was Wang Jianguo, holding a stack of enamel jars, the red words "Serve the People" on the jars having been worn white.
Director Song was holding a tin tea box, the peony pattern on the lid had long since become blurred.
Director Liu was carrying two bundles of hemp ropes with a few strands of straw stuck to them, which swayed gently with his steps.
After the four of them stood behind the table, Zhao Shuzhuo raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then waved his hand as he walked off the stage.
The noise gradually died down, and only the chirping of cicadas in the locust tree could be heard.
He pulled over a three-legged wooden chair and sat down, placing a red brick under the legs to make it less unstable.
Wang Jianguo placed enamelware cups on the table one by one, and carefully wiped the rim of each cup with his sleeve.
Director Song opened the tea box, pinched a handful of coarse tea leaves into each jar, poured hot water into them, and immediately a few broken leaves floated in the brown tea soup.
Director Liu untied the hemp rope and tied a strong knot on the corner of the table, preparing to hang slogans for the meeting.
The villagers' eyes were all focused ahead. A few children leaned over the edge of the table to look inside, but were driven away by Zhao Shuzhuo with a smile.
In the rice fields in the distance, the laughter of children could be heard faintly, mixed with the fragrance of locust flowers, adding a bit of homely flavor to this afternoon meeting place.
Zhao Shuzhuo sat at a mottled old wooden table, his eyes sweeping over the crowd gathered under the shade of the trees.
He saw Aunt Wang standing on tiptoe and looking outside the field, probably waiting for her husband to return from carrying manure.
Several young wives gathered in the back row, working on sewing shoe soles but glancing over here from time to time.
Estimating that the sun had already climbed up the third branch of the old locust tree, he reached out and patted the enamel pot on the corner of the table, then slowly stood up.
The hem of his Zhongshan suit brushed past the table leg, raising a small cloud of dust that circled and floated upwards in the slanting sunlight.
"Fellow villagers—"
His voice had the unique hoarseness of Northeast China, like the bark of an old locust tree rubbing against a coarse pottery bowl.
"Put aside what you are doing and listen to me."
Grandma Chen, who was weaving grasshoppers for her grandson, raised her head, her cloudy eyes reflecting the pen cap swaying on his chest.
Tiger Boy on the haystack quickly covered his brother's mouth, fearing that the little guy's laughter would interrupt the opening.
Zhao Shuzhuo leaned forward on the edge of the table, his tanned hands resting on the red enamel pot with the words "Serve the People" inscribed on it. The paint on the pot had almost fallen off a long time ago, revealing the dark red iron sheet underneath.
"Look at this field, all the men, young and old, are here in full force!"
He suddenly grinned, revealing a missing canine tooth.
"Even the lame Mr. Li from the east came over here with his crutches—"
A burst of laughter came from the crowd, and Uncle Li awkwardly poked the dirt at his feet with his pipe.