RYEY -Chapter 265 Support from Above

Li Huan struck the bronze gong again, and the villagers quickly gathered at the threshing ground. By now they all knew that whenever Li Huan rang the gong, it was either to save their lives or to help them live and work in peace.

“Folks, you’ve all seen it—the seedlings in the fields have already sprouted. But it’s almost October now, and we’re about to enter the bitterly cold winter.”

Everyone nodded. Winters here were marked by heavy snow, with temperatures dropping to more than ten degrees below zero. Even if the seedlings had sprouted, they would eventually be frozen to death.

“My wife, Cheng Qiao, has come up with a method—letting the seedlings put on winter clothes. That way, we can retain warmth and moisture, and next year we’ll be able to harvest grain.”

“It can be done like that? That’s great!”

“She really is an educated youth—smart.”

“Bah! Cheng Qiao isn’t an educated youth. She’s our village head’s wife.”

“Right, right—she stopped being an educated youth long ago. My mistake.”

“Folks, right now we need you to do two things. First, find bamboo—or wood will do—to build frames. This task will be handled by Uncle Niu.”

Uncle Niu took the blueprint from Li Huan, his eyes lighting up. He knew exactly what this Erlizi was planning—build a framework over the seedlings and then wrap it up. Wouldn’t that be like dressing the crops in padded jackets?

But where would they find so many quilts? They barely had enough for themselves. Just as he was about to ask, Li Huan picked up the loudspeaker again:

“Once the frames are built, we’ll wrap them with plastic film, leaving movable entrances at the front and back for easy access. The only problem is that plastic film is expensive, so every household will need to chip in some money.”

“What? Pay money? I’m not doing it.”

“If you don’t do it, then don’t expect any grain when it’s distributed tomorrow.”

“Fine if I don’t get any! Are you stupid? In weather this cold, what can a bit of plastic film do? In the end it’ll all be for nothing.”

“Bullshit! You crow—why don’t you just drop dead?”

“You’re cursing me? Damn it, if I don’t beat you to death today, my surname isn’t Chen!”

“Go on then—if you don’t, you’re a turtle!”

Seeing Chen Mugen and Chen Shuigen start fighting, annoyance flashed in Li Huan’s eyes. Wang Xiangyang stepped forward, holding ten yuan. The Wang family supported Li Huan.

As soon as Uncle Niu heard “plastic film,” he understood Li Huan’s plan. After thinking it over, he felt it was feasible. When it got especially cold, they could find ways to set up coal stoves to raise the temperature.

“I’ll give ten yuan too.”

Ye Jun was the most generous—he handed over two hundred yuan to Li Huan. He never worked the fields, but he knew how hard farming was, so contributing some money was only right.

Cheng Qiao also took out two hundred yuan to show her support for her husband. Gradually, one household gave five yuan, another ten. Chen Weidang took out a hundred yuan as well.

Li Huan smiled and called out through the loudspeaker, “This plastic film was bought by my elder brother from the army, at a price much cheaper than the market. So three yuan per household will be enough.”

Hearing it was only three yuan, Chen Shuigen and Chen Mugen both stopped fighting. Suddenly the scuffle felt completely pointless. They shot each other a glare, then each took out three yuan and handed it to Chen Weidang.

The money Ye Jun had taken out would not be returned. Although the plastic film funds were now sufficient, there would be many additional expenses later. What he lacked least was money—two hundred yuan was nothing to him.

Li Huan understood Ye Jun’s intentions and had Chen Weidang keep it. Naturally, the two hundred yuan his own wife had taken out was also handed over without hesitation.

“Huan-zi, I sincerely support you as village head. With you in Xiangyang Village, the days ahead will definitely get better and better.”

“Uncle Weidang, thank you for your support. I think so too. As long as the villagers of Xiangyang Village unite and strive upward together, I, Li Huan, guarantee that every household will have enough grain.”

Applause erupted. Hearing the endless clapping, Li Huan’s eyes suddenly grew moist. He had gone from a universally despised hoodlum to a village head loved by all—a process filled with hardship and danger.

When he looked at Cheng Qiao, his gaze grew infinitely gentle. Cheng Qiao—his wife, his beloved—over these years had borne his children, managed the household, and helped him at every turn in his endeavors. What a wonderful wife.

In less than a month, all the crops in Xiangyang Village had been fitted with bamboo frameworks. They first experimented with wood, but found it couldn’t bend properly, so they went to look for bamboo instead.

Bamboo strips could bend without tearing the plastic film. As a result, every household in Xiangyang Village was busy making bamboo strips, and even the educated youths didn’t want to fall behind.

When people from other villages heard about this, they mocked Li Huan of Xiangyang Village for indulging in wild fantasies. In this region, no one had ever managed to keep crops alive in weather of more than ten degrees below zero.

Yet the commune secretary and county leaders paid exceptional attention to the matter. If it succeeded, it would mean an extra harvest of grain every year for the region—what an enormous contribution to grain supplies that would be.

The county leaders even provided material support. Didn’t they need coal stoves and coal briquettes? They would supply as much as possible. As long as the winter wheat could survive the winter, all the effort would be worth it.

When snowflakes began to fall, everyone started safeguarding the wheat in the fields. The temperature had only dropped to around zero for now. Looking at the lush green wheat, hope rose in everyone’s heart.

The villagers consciously gave up staying indoors for the winter, instead taking turns checking the fields. If the temperature dropped too low or the wheat’s growth slowed, they would take measures immediately.

Before heavy snow sealed off the mountains, Li Huan led the security team into the mountains to hunt. If they could take down a big catch, they’d have pork dishes for the New Year.

After all, a flood had drowned most households’ chickens, and the two pigs raised by the village had also been swept away to who knew where.

But annual traditions couldn’t change. And since farmers had no meat coupons to buy pork in the county town, the only option was to go into the mountains to catch wild boars.

Chen Yuejin and Li Huan first checked the traps they had set. Sure enough, the harvest was good—six or seven pheasants and rabbits. The security team was overjoyed; before the troops even moved, fodder was already secured.

The hunt lasted a full three days. During those three days, Cheng Qiao was not idle either. She entrusted the two children to Mother Li and Li Le, and quietly went up the mountain herself with Ye Jun.

In spring and autumn, digging medicinal herbs usually yielded common varieties. But in winter, truly rare and precious herbs could be found—though the risks were great.

Cheng Qiao summoned the sea eagle and Little Red Head. These two creatures were somewhat afraid of the Qilin Resurrection Tree, so they roamed the mountains. With their abilities, they would never starve.

Little Red Head sensed Cheng Qiao’s arrival in the mountains right away and hurried to her side. Cheng Qiao quickly took out well water and let it drink its fill.