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墨書 Inktalez
The time had come for the fifteenth day of the Lunar August, coinciding with the National Day holiday. Schools in Annan County had given students an Autumn Break to harvest corn and beans, followed by plowing the fields for winter wheat.
In Hujiazhuang Village, Zhao Manyin's family owned a hand-pulled tractor, while the Yongshun family on the back street and the Red Flag family on the front street had tractors as well. However, only Hu Ruoyun's family in the middle street was fully equipped with a harvester, plow, and trailer.
Since finishing the wheat harvest around the Dragon Boat Festival, Hu Ruoyun's father and Second Uncle had been working tirelessly delivering bricks to the township's brick factory. With hard work, he could earn about 10 to 15 yuan a day. Aside from spraying pesticides and watering the fields, they didn’t dare waste a single day.
In these three months, their family managed to save nearly 1,000 yuan! As autumn harvest approached, though reluctant to set aside brick delivery work, they had no choice since the brick factory had also closed for the holiday.
Life had taken an unexpected turn for brothers Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua! With a newfound spirit, they worked alongside their family, wielding hoes to chop down corn stalks as if they didn’t feel tired at all.
To speed up their work and prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival, both families went to Lao Gu Market and bought ten jin of pork, splitting half to send to their children's grandmother and grandfather while keeping the other half. The fatty pork was rendered into lard for storage, and mixed with loofah, winter melon, radish, and cabbage for a delicious stir-fry.
With their spirits lifted, they worked efficiently. The two families joined forces: mothers and Second Aunt brought along younger brother Xiao Hu, younger sister Xiao Feng, cousin Shangyun from Second Uncle’s family, and cousin Shuangyun to gather corn while Hu Ruoyun worked with his father and Second Uncle to chop down corn stalks.
Chopping corn stalks was the most labor-intensive task; by day's end, their palms were blistered and sore. Fortunately, this year Hu Ruoyun bought over ten pairs of protective gloves from the local supply store—something he hadn’t dared to do in previous years—making things much easier.
Brother Jie came to help; not just him but also Sister Jie’s brother and younger brother joined in. With three strong helpers on board, work became much lighter for both families.
During this busy season, everyone was occupied. Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua tried to stop Brother Jie’s trio from working too hard. Brother Jie replied, “You two old fellows, we’re not working for free! Once we finish our two families’ work, you’ll still need to help us plow our fields with that iron contraption!”
What could they say? They got to work!
Everyone understood that this wasn’t merely about exchanging labor; it was about building goodwill!
At lunchtime, they enjoyed stewed pork with winter melon served with steamed buns—plenty to go around. Sister Jie hesitated to join them with her three children; Second Aunt brought over a full basin of food in an enamel bowl so she wouldn’t have to fuss about it.
For dinner, they lit the firewood stove and slowly cooked freshly ground wheat kernels in a big pot. After half an hour of simmering topped with buns, the aroma of wheat filled the air. The buns were soft and steaming hot while meat slices were stewed with cabbage and vermicelli in another pot served in a large basin at the center of the table.
With a bite of steamed bun followed by a slurp of soup and a mouthful of oily vegetables… everyone gathered around enjoyed a lively meal together.
While other families were still harvesting corn stalks, Hu Ruoyun's land was already being plowed.
The iron plow head was attached at the center of the hand-pulled tractor. During operation, its depth could be adjusted freely using a lever.
With double plowshares instead of a single one, efficiency doubled; powered by a 12-horsepower diesel engine that surpassed even three oxen in strength. Most importantly, it plowed deeper than traditional walking plows.
By day’s end, Hu Ruoyun and Hu Zhenhua’s fields were completely plowed and weeded; next up were Brother Jie’s family and Sister Jie’s maternal family.
The Woodzi family had three sons. The eldest, Wu Mingyang, was twenty years old and was set to marry this Spring Festival. The second son, Wu Minghui, was eighteen and had also arranged a marriage with a girl from Gedaying. The youngest, Wu Mingliang, was a year older than Hu Ruoyun and attended high school in Qizhong, Annan County, where he was in the same grade as Hu Ruoyun. It was said that his academic performance was average.
Although the Woodzi couple were not particularly virtuous, their three children were quite sensible. During this holiday, Wu Mingliang and Hu Ruoyun chatted about their respective schools.
Qizhong in Annan County was located in Qiliying Township. Although it was generally better than Eight Middle School in Annan County, it still fell short compared to high schools in the county town in terms of teaching quality and facilities. Additionally, it was rumored that Qiliying Township had been home to notorious bandits before liberation, and even today, the local children had a fierce reputation. They often bullied students from other towns, feeling superior on their own turf.
Hu Ruoyun asked Wu Mingliang, “Have you ever been bullied?”
Wu Mingliang's face turned red. “In my first and second years of high school, I was often asked for meal tickets by local students. Now that I’m in my third year and know more people, it’s mostly stopped. But first and second-year students still get bullied regularly.”
Hu Ruoyun pressed on, “Don’t the teachers or the school do anything about it?”
Wu Mingliang sighed helplessly. “If someone reports it to the teachers, those students will have local tough guys retaliate…”
He then asked Hu Ruoyun, “Last year when you were a freshman, didn’t anyone bully you?”
Hu Ruoyun knew that similar situations existed at Eight Middle School in Annan County. However, during the opening ceremony, he had showcased a set of martial arts that impressed many people. Later on, when his work caused a stir and the police came to the school without taking any action against him, the local bullies didn’t dare to provoke him easily. In fact, a group of troublemakers led by Hu Jiakai from Gaoqiao Town even tried to befriend him.
In his envisioned future, Hu Ruoyun had seen plenty of news about school bullying and societal oppression. He understood that some things couldn’t be avoided; one could only strive to become stronger or rely on those who were strong.
Nothing could stop the desire to earn money. After finishing the farm work at home, Hu Qihua thought about checking if the brick factory in Township had started operations yet. However, before he could leave, Hu Ruoyun's second uncle arrived: “Brother, the brick factory hasn’t opened yet… Ding Shunhe from the back street wants us to plow his land. He said he checked around and found out that the Farm Machinery Station also has machines for plowing like ours. He’ll pay us 18 yuan per mu!”
What else was there to say? They got to work!
Ding Shunhe had five and a half mu of land and paid them 90 yuan in total; after deducting fuel costs, they made over seventy yuan!
With one job completed, more followed—Chen Shengwei’s six mu from the back street and Hu Qiusheng’s four and a half mu from the middle street…
By the time they finished plowing and sowing wheat, the two brothers tallied up their earnings: within less than a month, their gross income had reached nearly three thousand yuan (at this time, they hadn’t yet considered labor costs or equipment wear)!
The brothers dreamed about what next year’s harvest season would look like.
Only Hu Ruoyun understood that in the days to come, as people realized how convenient tractors were and as life improved, there would be more tractors in the village.
To make money, they needed to change their mindset and approach.
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