Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2848 Huang Bo
The two chatted while they worked, talking and laughing, and in just over an hour, they had cleaned up the more than 100-meter-long channel.

"You haven't forgotten your work." Perhaps the chat with Tan Shuangxi made him feel much more relaxed, and Cai Wang's expression also relaxed.

"After all, I am still a farmer." Tan Shuangxi sat on the ridge of the field, looking at the canal that had just been repaired. The sun shone on his body, warm but not uncomfortable. He could feel the sweat flowing on his skin. The tiredness and satisfaction brought by the labor made him feel happy.

"Shuangxi, do you still remember the days when we herded cattle together when we were little?" Cai Wang asked

Tan Shuangxi smiled, "Of course I remember. At that time, we always secretly ran to the river to swim. When Old Man Chen saw us, he stamped his feet and cursed."

They both laughed, and those childhood memories seemed like they happened just yesterday.

"The cattle still belonged to Old Man Chen at that time," Cai Wang said with emotion. "I was thinking about the day when I could tie up a big buffalo at home, and I would never get tired of grazing it every day."

Tan Shuangxi nodded and said, "Yes, at that time our dreams were very simple, we just wanted to have a cow of our own."

Cai Wang smiled and said, "Your dream is not to have your own cow. At that time, you said: I will be satisfied if I can go to Qiongzhou Prefecture to have a look and stroll around."

Tan Shuangxi smiled a little embarrassedly, "I was so naive back then. I thought Qiongzhou Prefecture was almost like heaven. I didn't even know Guangzhou. I only knew there was a provincial capital."

"You've even been to Guangzhou now. In the future, maybe you'll go to Beijing or even further away," Cai Wang said seriously, "which can be considered as the realization of your dream."

Tan Shuangxi looked at him, feeling a little heavy in his heart. He knew that Caiwang didn't have big dreams, just 30 mu of land, a cow, a wife and children. If he had more land and cows, and could build a big and decent house, it would be even better. Such a request would not be difficult under the rule of the Senate... It was really God's will!
As the sun was approaching noon, Tan Shuangxi said goodbye to Caiwang and returned home. His parents stayed in the field, but Shuangqing came back and was filling a basket with lunch to deliver to the field.

When Tan Shuangxi went out to serve in the army, Shuangqing was still a teenager. Now he is a real young man. But compared with the young people in the same village, he still looks very thin.

He looked at the dishes in the lunch basket and shook his head, "No meat!"

Tan Shuangqing smiled and said, "Meat is expensive. Now is not the time to work hard on the farm. Just eat as much as you want. No need for so much oil and water."

"At least boil a few eggs. The human body needs protein..."

"Dad said he wanted to save the eggs to exchange for money, so he couldn't bear to eat them."

"An egg can only be exchanged for a few coins. You don't want to dig your dowry money out of the chicken's butt." Tan Shuangxi laughed, "Just tell me, how much dowry do you want, girl?"

Speaking of lifelong events, Tan Shuangqing was a little shy: "Sixty yuan. My family can't come up with it for the time being, and we haven't officially decided yet."

Hearing the number “sixty yuan”, Tan Shuangxi couldn’t help but shudder, thinking, is this also the market price?

"Where is the girl from?"

"I'm from Salt Field Village 3," Tan Shuangqing said. "I only have primary school education. I can write and do math, and I can do farm work."

Tan Shuangxi was startled again and almost blurted out, "You don't want to go to college, do you?" He was afraid of spoiling his brother's fun, so he pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "What's her name? I have many comrades at the salt field, maybe she's the child of someone I know."

Tan Shuangqing was a little surprised and said, "She is the girl from the Hou family, her nickname is Baihua."

"Hou Baihua." Tan Shuangxi repeated the name silently several times and memorized it in his heart. He planned to go to the salt field tomorrow and secretly inquire about it under the pretext of looking for comrades to play.

He changed the subject and said:

"No one here collects eggs, so why did mother take them to Maniao to sell?"

Because the Senate vigorously promotes chicken farming in rural areas, almost every household in rural areas raises a few chickens, and eggs have become the most common source of cheap protein on the market. However, rural consumption is limited, and most of the eggs still have to be sold in towns.

"No need to go to Maniao." Tan Shuangqing said, "Old Man Chen's family is now an agent, specializing in collecting chicken and duck eggs in the village."

"Agent, is he buying for the Senate?"

"It's not the Senate, but a businessman from outside the province. I heard that he bought a 'patent' from the Senate and opened an egg factory specializing in processing eggs. Once the eggs are purchased and processed in the factory, they can be kept for many days and shipped to faraway places for sale. I heard that he is also planning to supply the troops."

More than ten years ago, Tan Shuangxi would have thought such words were just a fantasy, but now he was not surprised at all. After all, the impression that the Senate was omnipotent had long been rooted in his mind.

"Old Man Chen is really good at making money!" "He's really smart!" Tan Shuangqing packed up his lunch basket and water jug ​​and left. Tan Shuangxi had just come back to eat lunch when someone outside suddenly shouted, "Brother Shuangxi! Brother Shuangxi!"

He hurried out to see, and it turned out to be Mr. Huang from the same village. Mr. Huang was not very old, but he looked very old. He was one of the poorest people in the village. In the past, his family had no land and had to rent other people's fields for a long time. Later, the Tiandihui concentrated on reclaiming wasteland, and sold 30 mu of the reclaimed land to his family at a low price in the form of a long-term low-interest loan, so that he could have his own land.

Although they had land, Uncle Huang's family's life was not much better. They went from "starving and freezing" to "barely having enough to eat and wear." Bad luck seemed to always surround his family. First, the cow loaned to them by the Tiandihui died; within two years, the wife that they had married for their son with almost all their money died of illness. Then, Aunt Huang passed away last year. Of the more than 200 households in the village, even the refugees who came here with nothing lived better than his family after settling down for a year or two.

Seeing him, Tan Shuangxi began to sigh in his heart. Before the mainland went to war, he went home to visit his family. Huang Bo came to borrow money to treat his daughter-in-law. Originally, his father was unwilling to lend it, but Tan Shuangxi thought that his family was a military family after all, and should set an example in the village, so he persuaded his father to borrow six yuan. As a result, when he came back a few days ago, his father accidentally mentioned that he had not paid a penny in the past few years - naturally, his family's situation has not improved much.

Judging from his appearance, he looked fine, but his eyes were evasive. It was obvious that he was not here to pay back the money.

He was not here to pay back the money, so he certainly wasn't here to reminisce about the past. Because of poverty and debt, the villagers had almost no dealings with his family. Needless to say, he was here to borrow money.

But Tan Shuangxi always remembered the teachings of the army, "the army and the people are one family", and he could not lose face and chase him away. He could only smile and say, "Uncle Huang! Have you eaten yet? If not, let's eat together in the room..." Then he invited him in.

But Uncle Huang waved his hand and whispered, "It's okay. I'll just stand here and talk." After that, he looked around again, as if he had something shameful to say.

"what's up?"

"I want to inquire about something," Huang Bo said, "You are in the army and an officer, so you must know more than others."

"I'm not an official," Tan Shuangxi said modestly. "Just tell me. I'll tell you everything I know."

"The village is recruiting soldiers this autumn. My son has also signed up..."

Tan Shuangxi was surprised and said, "Da Luo? Isn't he an only child? He doesn't need to apply."

"If you don't join the army, you will have no future at home." Mr. Huang looked bitter. "The recruiter said that if you are willing to go, it will be considered as voluntary enlistment, and you can get an extra ten yuan for resettlement."

"Oh, why are you doing this!" Tan Shuangxi started to speak incoherently. He was about to say that they were at war and that after joining the army, they would most likely go to the front to supplement the troops. What if they were disabled or died in battle? But then he thought that saying this would "shake people's hearts". He was preparing to apply for the candidate officer exam and couldn't say the wrong thing at this time.

After thinking for a while, he changed his words to a more euphemistic one: "Well, there are only three of you in your family now. If Daluo goes to the army, what will happen to your land and your grandson?"

"I won't farm the land anymore." Uncle Huang lowered his head. "Given the current situation at home, I can't pay off the debt owed to the Tiandihui even if I continue farming..." He stopped talking here and asked, "I just want to ask you a question..."

"You said it, you said it."

"In this round of conscription, the boy from Old Man Chen's family is also on the enlistment list. A few days ago, he came to discuss with me and said that he was willing to exchange with Daluo..."

"Change?" Tan Shuangxi asked in surprise, "Change what?"

It turned out that those who volunteered like his son could choose to serve in the National Army stationed in more stable areas. This batch of National Army soldiers were supplemented to serve in Taiwan, and the safety factor was relatively high. However, the corresponding resettlement allowance was only half of that of the Fu Bo Army. Even with the voluntary enlistment subsidy, it was only 22 yuan.

The new recruits of the Fu Bo Army are said to be from the second battalion in Sanya, which has been serving as a reserve force in Sanya.

Now Old Man Chen wants to talk to him and is willing to give him one hundred yuan if they are willing to exchange their enlistment quotas.

"...I just want to ask, will the battalion in Sanya be sent to fight on the mainland?"

Tan Shuangxi felt mixed emotions. Thinking about the scene at the banquet in Daya Village and what Zhang Laicai said, he felt very upset.

"I don't know the situation of the Second Battalion. I don't know whether they will go to the mainland to fight." He said reluctantly, "I can only say that any unit has the possibility of being transferred to the front line."

This answer obviously did not satisfy Mr. Huang, but he did not ask any more questions. He just lowered his head and sighed deeply, as if he could not make up his mind.

Tan Shuangxi couldn't help but persuade him: "If you really want to join the army, you'd rather join the National Army."

Huang Bo shook his head helplessly: "If you join the National Army, you can't even pay off the resettlement fee loan."

The loan that the Tiandihui used to buy the land will expire next year. The principal and interest for seven years is more than 93 yuan. Naturally, he cannot take out this money.

"Just accept it. You and Da Luo won't lack food and clothing if you work as farm laborers. Why take the risk? At worst, the Nanyang Company is recruiting immigrants to Nanyang. Once you go, you will be given land and resettlement fees..." Tan Shuangxi no longer cared about being "cautious" and tried his best to persuade