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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 had managed to equip themselves with a harvester, plow, and trailer all at once.
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, he was reluctant to waste any time.
In just three months, they had managed to save nearly 1,000 yuan! As autumn harvest approached, although they were reluctant to stop hauling bricks, the brick factory had also shut down for the holiday.
Life had taken an unexpected turn for brothers Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua; they never imagined they would be living like this now! With a sense of purpose came boundless energy. The brothers worked alongside their families, swinging hoes to cut down corn stalks as if they were unaware of their fatigue.
To prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival and to speed up their work, both families went to Lao Gu Market and bought ten pounds of pork, splitting it in half—one portion for their children's grandmother and grandfather's house, and keeping the other half for themselves. The fatty meat was rendered into lard for storage, while the lean meat was stir-fried with loofah, winter melon, radishes, and cabbage, creating a delicious aroma.
With renewed spirits, their work became more efficient. The two families joined forces; mothers and Second Aunt brought along younger brother Xiao Hu, younger sister Xiao Feng, as well as Second Uncle's cousin Shangyun and cousin Shuangyun to harvest corn. Meanwhile, Hu Ruoyun worked with his father and Second Uncle using hoes to chop down corn stalks.
Among all these tasks, cutting corn stalks was the most laborious. By day's end, their palms were blistered and sore from the work. Fortunately, this year Hu Ruoyun had bought over ten pairs of protective gloves from the local supply store—something he had hesitated to do in previous years—making things much more manageable.
Brother Jie came to help out. Not only him but also Sister Jie brought along her brother and younger brother. With three strong hands joining in, both families found their workload significantly lightened.
During this busy season when everyone was occupied with work, Hu Qihua and Hu Zhenhua tried to persuade Brother Jie not to overwork himself. Brother Jie replied, "You two uncles, we’re not working for free! Once we finish our two families' tasks, you both will need to help us plow our fields with our iron tools!"
What else could they say? They got back to work! Everyone understood that this wasn’t just about exchanging labor; it was about building goodwill.
At lunchtime, there was stewed pork with winter melon served with fluffy white steamed buns—a generous meal. Sister Jie hesitated to come over with her three children; Second Aunt brought out a full basin of food in an enamel bowl so she wouldn’t have to fuss over it again.
For dinner, they lit up the firewood stove and simmered freshly ground wheat kernels in a large pot while steaming buns on top. After half an hour of cooking, the aroma of wheat soup filled the air; the buns were soft and steaming hot. In another pot, pork was stewed with cabbage and vermicelli served in a big bowl placed at the center of the table.
Everyone enjoyed their meal together amidst laughter and chatter.
While other families were still cutting down corn stalks, Hu Ruoyun's family had already begun plowing their fields.
The iron plowshare was mounted at the center of the hand-pulled tractor and could be adjusted freely during operation using a lever.
With two plowshares working together instead of one doubled their efficiency. The 12-horsepower diesel engine was more powerful than three draft animals combined; most importantly, it plowed deeper than traditional walking plows.
By day's end, Hu Ruoyun’s and Hu Zhenhua’s fields were completely plowed and weeded. Next up were Brother Jie's family and Sister Jie's maternal family.
Woodzi had three sons. The eldest, Wu Mingyang, was twenty years old and was getting married 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 the Seventh High School in Annan County, sharing the same grade as Hu Ruoyun, though it was said that their academic performance was average.
Although Woodzi and his wife were not particularly virtuous, their three children were quite sensible. During this holiday, Wu Mingliang and Hu Ruoyun chatted about their respective schools.
Seventh High School in Annan County was located in Qiliying Township. While 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 produced notorious bandits before liberation, and even now, the local customs were quite fierce. Children from nearby villages often bullied students from other towns, feeling entitled since they studied on their own turf.
Hu Ruoyun asked Wu Mingliang, "Liangzi, have you ever been bullied?"
Wu Mingliang's face flushed red. "In my first and second years of high school, local students often demanded meal tickets from me. Now that I'm in my third year and know more people, I hardly encounter any problems. But students in the first and second years still get bullied frequently."
Hu Ruoyun pressed on, "Don't the teachers or the school do anything about it?"
With a helpless expression, Wu Mingliang replied, "If anyone reports to the teachers, those students will have local tough guys retaliate..."
He then asked Hu Ruoyun, "When you were a freshman last year, did anyone bully you new students?"
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 he published a work that caused some trouble and the police came to the school without taking any action against him... The local bullies didn't dare provoke him easily; even a group of troublemakers led by Hu Jiakai from Gaoqiao Town West Street sought to befriend him.
In his envisioned future, even if Hu Ruoyun had not experienced it firsthand, he had seen many reports of bullying in schools and social injustices through the news. There were many things one could not avoid; one could only strive to become stronger or rely on those who were strong.
Nothing could stop the desire to make money. After finishing his family's farm work, Hu Qihua thought about checking if the brick factory in Township had started operations yet. However, before he could step out, Hu Ruoyun's Second Uncle came over: "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 charges for plowing with machines like ours—eighteen yuan per mu—and he said he'd pay us that rate too!"
What else was there to say? Let's get to work!
Ding Shunhe had five and a half mu of land and paid ninety yuan in total; after deducting diesel costs, they made over seventy yuan!
With one job done, more followed—Chen Shengwei's six mu from the back street and Hu Qiusheng's four and a half mu from Middle Street...
By the time they finished plowing and sowed wheat seeds in the fields, the two brothers tallied their earnings: within less than a month, their gross income approached three thousand yuan (at this time, they had no concept of labor costs or equipment depreciation)!
The brothers began to dream about what next year's harvest season would look like.
Only Hu Ruoyun understood that in the days to come, seeing how quick and convenient tractors were—and with life improving—the number of tractors in the village would only increase.
To make money, both their mindset and approach needed to change.
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