The Pentium Era - South to North

How a place's economy is can be seen from the car window. For example, in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, you drive on a national or provincial highway and look in both directions. Houses are connected to houses, and villages and towns are connected to factories. If you don't look at the navigation , it is difficult for you to tell which boundary you have reached, they seem to be connected into one.

Outside the car window, you can rarely even see fields, let alone any attractive scenery. All you can see are houses, large and small, with different shapes and functions. The houses make up the landscape on both sides of the road. Landscape.

Zhang Xiangbei was persuaded by County Magistrate Liu to drink a lot at noon, so Xiang Yiyun drove the car while Zhang Xiangbei sat in the passenger seat.

As soon as he left the county town, Zhang Xiangbei was amazed by the scene outside the car window. The rapeseed flowers on both sides of the road were in bloom, and they were golden, as if someone had used a pen and oil paint to smear the golden rapeseed on the ground. There are butterflies and bees flying among the flowers.

Zhang Xiangbei looked at Xiang Evian, who was driving the car and seemed indifferent to the scenery outside the window. Zhang Xiangbei said:

“It’s so beautiful here!”

"Isn't it just rapeseed flowers?" Xiang Yiyun said lightly.

"Are you indifferent?" Zhang Xiangbei asked.

"How would I feel? I can see this scene every year. I have seen it since I was a child, and I am tired of seeing it. What you see is picturesque scenery, and what I see is bitterness. I would rather see it every day. It’s all high-rise buildings.”

As Xiang Yiyun said this, Zhang Xiangbei couldn't help but laugh. Xiang Yiyun turned to look at him and said:

"I'm telling the truth. Do you know how much you earn from growing one acre of rapeseed, just the picturesque rapeseed you saw?"

Zhang Xiangbei said: "Well, I really don't know. If you want to talk about vegetables, I know it, but I have no idea about rapeseed."

"I'll tell you the math." Xiang Yiyun said, tapping the steering wheel with his fingers: "One acre of rapeseed can harvest about 350 to 400 kilograms of rapeseed, and the oil yield rate is 100%. About thirty-five, that is, one hundred twenty or thirty kilograms of oil can be squeezed. The rapeseed oil squeezed by this small oil shop costs about seven yuan per kilogram.

"If you don't press oil and sell rapeseed directly, rapeseed costs about two yuan per kilogram per acre of land. Whether you press oil or sell rapeseed, you can earn 700 to 800 yuan. If you add up the seeds, fertilizers, etc., it will be almost 100 yuan." Ten yuan. For a small area of ​​rapeseed land like this, the rapeseed is planted, harvested and dried manually. The labor cost is about four to five hundred yuan, so one acre of land can earn about two hundred yuan.

"The labor force in rural areas is worthless. Well, if you do the math, even if the seeds and fertilizers fall from the sky, you can earn your own wages for labor. The entire cycle of rapeseed is three and a half to four months. If you do the math, it's seven to eight hundred Divide by three or four months, how much is it? For a farmer, if one person can cultivate three acres of land, that would be great. Isn’t such an income bitter?”

Xiang Yiyun calculated this, and Zhang Xiangbei also agreed. It turns out that behind this picturesque scenery, there is really bitterness. Planting three acres of rapeseed land, the entire income, not counting the costs, will last for three or four months. , that is, one month’s salary of working in the city.

It’s true, isn’t it true that picturesque scenery can only be found in remote rural areas? How do those city dwellers who drive there in droves know that they have disturbed other people’s lives and cannot see what is hidden beneath this picturesque scenery? bitter.

The car drove for more than ten minutes, but no factory was seen outside the window. Zhang Xiangbei muttered:

"Are there no businesses here?"

"Do you know what other pillar industries here are besides sheep raising?" Xiang Eyun asked.

"I don't know, you say."

"Make shoes." Xiang Yiyun said.

"Shoemaking industry? That's not bad." Zhang Xiangbei said, "Is it the bosses from Taiwan or Fujian or Guangdong who come to invest?"

Xiang Eyun chuckled, nodded and said, "Yes, the shoemaking industry, but in this shoemaking industry, every household makes cloth shoes at home, making more than two million pairs of shoes every year, and also does embroidery."

Making cloth shoes and embroidery are not all handicrafts. Zhang Xiangbei said: "How much money can you make by doing these?"

Xiang Yiyun said: "It's just not making money, so County Magistrate Liu is anxious. I heard that his team was criticized by his superiors for not doing enough in poverty alleviation. He said it was a lot of pressure. He really didn't lie to you. When you come, people really treat you like a golden phoenix."

"I don't have hair." Zhang Xiangbei said, Xiang Yiyun laughed.

The car drove to the township government. The township government here is worse than the village committee before Chongqing Mr. Kan and his colleagues were renovated. It is just a row of bungalows that have been built for several years. There is a cement drying yard at the door. The cement has been cracked, and some patches have been repaired. The color of the newly patched cement is different from the original cement, like patches of plaster.

The entire township government doesn't even have a courtyard wall. Zhang Xiangbei feels that the township government's presence here has the word "poverty township" written on its face.

Feng Shengkuan's car arrived before them. Feng Shengkuan, Secretary Chen, and Township Chief Ma stood beside the car smoking and waiting for them. Xiang Yiyun parked the car behind Feng Shengkuan's car, and the two of them got out of the car.

Mayor Ma threw the cigarette in his hand on the ground, shook hands with Zhang Xiangbei, and asked, "Would you like to sit in the office?"

Zhang Xiangbei said: "No need, let's go directly to the village."

Mayor Ma said yes, thank you for the hard work, Mr. Zhang.

Secretary Chen turned around and shouted towards the bungalow: "Shengfeng! Shengfeng!"

A man in his thirties walked out of an office, looked at them, then ran over, stood next to them, smiled at Zhang Xiangbei, and then said to Xiang Yiyun:

"Are you here, Mr. Xiang?"

Xiang Yiyun nodded and said, “Here he comes.”

"Li Shengfeng, who works at the Township Agricultural Machinery Station, is from Nianzigou Village." Xiang Yiyun and Zhang Xiangbei said, "When the Suishou Bang was launched in Nianzigou Village, he was assisting us in our work."

Zhang Xiangbei quickly stretched out his hand to shake Li Shengfeng's hand and said thank you. Li Shengfeng smiled.

"Let's go, Li Shengfeng, you accompany Mr. Zhang and Mr. Xiang to the village, and you follow them. If they need anything, you help them. If you don't do the job well this time, you don't have to come back." Ma Xiang The director told Li Shengfeng, and Li Shengfeng still laughed.

Saying goodbye to Secretary Chen and Township Chief Ma, Zhang Xiangbei and Xiang Yiyun got into the car. Li Shengfeng climbed into Feng Shengkuan's car, and the two cars continued to the village.

The Nianzigou Village they were going to was their destination this time, and it was also the hometown of Zhou Yan.

This road was full of potholes and dirt. It had been in disrepair for a long time. There were many big potholes on the road, and there was still water in the potholes. They staggered forward on this road. The potholes were so big that the car simply couldn't move. Unable to avoid it, he was thrown into the pit, splashing yellow water, and the tire on one side pressed against the exposed rocks, causing the whole car to tilt.

It was obviously not a mountain road, but it felt like they were walking out of a mountain road. They were almost stunned. Zhang Xiangbei said:

"If this place is used as a mountain bike racing venue, it won't need to be renovated."

Xiang Yiyun and Zhang Xiangbei said: "It's pretty good now. If it rains or snows, it will be even worse. Drivers are afraid of taking this road."

This road is in a ravine between two mountains. The mountains here are bare and very strange. They seem to be full of weathered dark stones, just like in a large sand and gravel field where someone has piled sand. The pile of stones and the mountain receded far away, leaving a strip of flat land dozens of meters wide. Unlike the bare mountains on both sides, the flat land was a bright yellow field filled with rapeseed flowers.

Zhang Xiangbei said: "What are you afraid of? Although this road is difficult to walk, there is no danger."

"Of course it doesn't matter to us, but it's different for those trucks that are full of goods. They get stuck in a hole and can't get out, or they are shaking around. The goods on the truck may fall off at any time, or the tires may burst. If you encounter one thing, it will cause heaven and earth to fail, and the earth and earth will not respond."

Xiang Yiyun said that Zhang Xiangbei suddenly realized that he looked around. Although it was a vast plain, there was not even a single person in sight, and there were no houses. If a person encounters trouble here, he really wants to find someone. There was no one to help.

They drove forward for another ten minutes. The mountains on both sides receded further. The golden color on both sides of the car spread out and turned into a dam. In the distance, they saw the shadow of a village. At the head of the village was a three-story building. The three-story house should be the tallest building in the village. The house is not old but is new and looks pretty good.

In front of the house, there is a flagpole erected. The flagpole is bare, and there is no flag fluttering in the wind on the top of the pole. This house is surrounded by rape fields on the side, and there is also a white wall, blocking the golden color. Continue to spread.

Xiang Yiyun and Zhang Xiangbei said: "This is the village committee, we live here."

Zhang Xiangbei was surprised, this is the village committee? Zhang Xiangbei said: "It seems that the conditions of this village are good, and the village committee is quite decent."

Xiang Yiyun rolled her eyes at him and said: "This used to be Hope Primary School. For a while, in this northwest area, the only new building in each village, and also the best building, was the Hope Primary School in the village."

"Where's the elementary school?" Zhang Xiangbei asked.

"Now the schools have been merged. There are no primary schools in the village anymore, and they have all been transferred to the central school in the countryside. When this house was vacated, it became the village committee. The original village committee was overwhelmed by the snow." Xiang Yiyun Said, "Someone wants to spend money to buy this house for home use, but it turns out to be Hope Primary School, who dares to sell it."

Zhang Xiangbei smiled and said: "It seems that you are very familiar with this place."

"This is my sixth time here. Do you think I am familiar with it?" Xiang Yiyun said, "Besides, in the west, all rural areas are roughly the same, but here, it is probably very similar to our village more than ten years ago. look like."

Zhang Xiangbei laughed and asked, "Are you here to find your childhood?"

"Yes, that's right." Xiang Yiyun did not smile, she said seriously: "My childhood was so miserable, there is no way I can compare with you."

Zhang Xiangbei looked at Xiang Yiyun, knowing that what he just said was a bit abrupt, so he shut up and stopped talking.

The carriage fell into silence for a moment, both of them were silent. They could hear the creaking sound of the frame, and the dull sound of the chassis touching some protruding part below.

The car crawled forward slowly. Zhang Xiangbei saw Feng Shengkuan's car in front of him and drove into a large puddle again. The splashing yellow mud water shot into the rapeseed field on the side, causing the rapeseed in the vegetable field to fly leisurely. The butterflies were frightened and flapped their wings to escape.

Xiang Yiyun stared straight ahead and bit her lip. After a while, she sighed softly and whispered:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang. It's my fault. I'm in a place like this. I don't know why, but I feel very bad."

"Why?" Zhang Xiangbei asked, "Is it because of the scene, or..."

Xiang Yiyun shook her head and said: "There is a feeling of powerlessness. I want to change, but I feel that my power is too small. Many things... Oh, Mr. Zhang, you will know this when you stay in the countryside for a long time. Yes, the countryside is really different from the city.”

They approached the village committee. The village committee had a courtyard wall and a gate. There was an arched iron door head above the door. On the door head, the words "Nianzigou Village Hope Primary School" were cut out with an iron plate. It was originally bright red, but now the paint has peeled off and is stained with rust. The two iron doors on the original gate were stolen by someone unknown.

Feng Shengkuan's car was parked in the yard. Li Shengfeng, him, and another thin man in his fifties were standing there. He was Ma Damu, the village accountant.

The village director of this village is still working in Shenzhen, and the village party secretary is a village aid cadre transferred from the county tax bureau. The director is not here, so he is too lazy to come. He is often either in poor health or has something to do with his original unit, and he will not be there for a month. I only came here two or three times, and the only one who stayed at the village committee every day was the accountant Ma Damu.

There was nothing wrong with guarding. When Ma Damu chatted with Zhang Xiangbei the next day, he told Zhang Xiangbei that there was still thirty-two yuan in the village's account, and the subsidy was always owed. Do I have it? This accountant is actually the same.

"I am here, and there is no other place to go. The old lady at home is too annoying. She answers the phone here and shouts through the loudspeaker to ask someone to come to the village committee to answer the phone." Ma Damu and Zhang Xiangbei said.

Zhang Xiangbei thought that when he answered the phone, he was notifying someone above to come down for inspection. Unexpectedly, he was transferring calls to villagers who did not have mobile phones. Ma Damu told him:

"Who would come to a poor village like ours? Those who come to inspect have to bring their own dry food, so no one comes. There is no trace of a ghost all year round. I still hope that someone will come to inspect, so at least I can ask When will my subsidy come down?”

"Ma Damu, are you talking about subsidies again?" Li Shengfeng heard it not far away and came over and asked: "Why the hell are you like Sister Xianglin, talking about subsidies to everyone you meet."

Ma Damu was unconvinced and asked: "Then I won't tell them, but you? Telling you is useless. Your own salary is still owed for two months, isn't it?"

In a word, Li Shengfeng was choked by Ma Damu, and he chuckled.

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