50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 142: Chat in the Carriage
The story told by the two street officials immediately attracted the other four people in the car. Sun Zhiwei had never heard of this incident before, so he naturally listened carefully.

The street official who was speaking was happy to see that his topic had attracted everyone's attention, so he naturally kept the topic in suspense.

Sun Zhiwei knew that this kind of chatterbox didn't ask for any benefits, he just wanted someone to support him when he spoke, otherwise he would not be able to concentrate.

"Comrade, what happened next?" he asked while taking out a bag of Blue Peony and passing it around.

Seeing someone taking up the conversation, the clerk started talking again with great interest.

"You have to understand that it was the first 10,000-ton ship we built ourselves. We went to Xiao Rizi's house to unveil it, but they received such tragic news. Imagine how shocked they were."

"If someone really did this, I guess there will be a fight later."

The farm cadre, who had probably been on the battlefield before, took the initiative to analyze the situation and said, "Comrade, from what you said, this was actually an accident?"

"Hey, how did you guess it was an accident?" The street official was really surprised this time.

"Haha, didn't you just say that if there were an enemy, we might have to fight? But it's already September, and there's no sign of a fight. Doesn't that contradict the conclusion?"

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be able to see that from this. You have a really strong analytical ability. Have you ever led troops?"

"Well, I retired a long time ago."

"No wonder, those who come out of the army are the most powerful."

"Comrade, please tell us what happened next." The worker comrade was listening to the critical moment, and when he saw that they had changed the subject, he quickly changed the subject back.

"Actually, it was mainly because the situation was chaotic, the crew members were shirking responsibility, there were many different reports outside, and the enemy newspapers were causing trouble and spreading lies."

"Actually, if we investigate this kind of thing carefully, we'll definitely find a solution. Even if a ship that big sank, the wreckage is at the bottom of the water. If we go down into the water and inspect it, we'll definitely find the cause."

"I heard that a lot of people and ships were sent out to look for wreckage, but I don't know exactly how much there is."

"The salvage team deployed 10 ships and 1097 personnel, and the navy deployed 30 ships and 140 aircraft."

This sentence did not come from the street official, but from the soldier comrade who had never spoken.

Everyone turned their eyes to the soldier comrade.

"Comrade, if you know the details, can you tell us? This is not a violation of discipline, right?" Sun Zhiwei really wanted to know the details, but he would not ignore the risks involved, so it was better to ask first.

"No, this matter has been published in the newspaper. There is nothing to keep secret."

"Well, please tell me about it."

"At the time, we were ordered to search for wreckage. Water is flowing, and if a ship sinks, it will move away from its original position. We can't find it directly at the original location."

"So there were 10 boats carrying a large number of people specifically tasked with searching in the water."

"Because we are not at home, we were sent to accompany and protect them, so as to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble."

The soldier wasn't much of a storyteller, so he finished the story in just two sentences. Although he spoke simply, everyone was able to roughly understand the situation by just imagining it.

Then, he turned the conversation back to the street official and continued:

"In fact, although the ship sank, many crew members were rescued. As long as we check and question them one by one, we will eventually find out the answer."

"Soon after, the crew's inquiries matched their findings with their surveys of the reefs and wreckage, and they finally reached a conclusion."

"Running aground."

"With this definite result, we can make an explanation to the outside world."

"Everyone was originally thinking about another fight, but that's naturally out of the question." "Of course, this matter isn't over yet. How the accident happened and who's responsible? Hehe, that's another matter."

After hearing what he said, the worker knew there was more to the story and begged him to continue, but the street official refused to speak anymore.

The others seemed to be lost in thought, and tactfully stopped asking questions. Seeing that no one else agreed with him, the worker comrade could only shut up unhappily.

However, Sun Zhiwei discovered that the farm cadre was helpful to his trip, so he found an excuse to start a conversation with him.

"My name is Sun Zhiwei. I'm here to visit my sister at Shengli Farm. What's your name?"

"Hey, you're welcome. Everyone calls me Lao Yu, so you can call me that too."

"This is a local cigarette from Beijing, right? I haven't tried it before."

"Try it. I don't smoke it myself, but I've heard from people who have smoked it that it's good."

"Then I'll burn one and try it."

As he spoke, Lao Yu struck a match to light the cigarette, then took a deep puff, narrowed his eyes slightly, and blew two columns of smoke out of his nose.

"Rich flavor, rich aroma, great smoke."

"This tobacco is much better than the tobacco leaves produced on our farm."

"Does your farm also produce tobacco leaves?"

"Yes, most farms plant some tobacco leaves in the corners of their fields. After they are grown, they are mainly consumed internally and cannot affect grain production."

"Which farm are you on? Is it far from Victory Farm? I'd like to visit your place when I have time."

"Welcome, our Five Star Farm is 120 miles northeast of Jia City."

"I know Shengli Farm. It's due north of Jia City, about 70 or 80 miles from us, so it's not very far. It's just that the road conditions aren't very good. If you have a car, you can make a round trip during the day."

"That's not far, we're neighbors."

"Can you tell me about the farm? My child hasn't come home in the past two years. He said yes to everything I asked in the letter. I'm worried, so I took some time off to come and visit."

"There are many things to do on the farm. What do you want to ask about?"

"I want to know everything. Like, who are the people on the farm? Is the work tiring? What's the food like? Are there a lot of bad things going on?"

"My sister said she became a squadron leader. I don't know what this position is. Is it hard?"

"If you ask if it's hard, it's definitely harder than working in the city, but it only lasts for half a year. The remaining half of the year is blocked by heavy snow, so you can only stay indoors for the winter."

“If there is enough food and firewood, then we can only say we are happy.”

"What if there aren't enough supplies?"

"It would be hard to bear if there wasn't enough, but since we all live in a group, this situation shouldn't happen often, unless everyone in the room is a lazy bum."

"Most of the people who can come to the farm now are young people with awareness, and competition among them is common."

"If your sister can become a squadron leader, according to the principle of leading by example, she will definitely work much harder than ordinary farm workers."

"As for food and drink, there's no need to worry. The resources here are quite abundant. Although it's not as exaggerated as catching roe deer with a stick and scooping fish with a ladle, there's no need to worry about food and drink."

"Especially since the beginning of this year, with the bumper harvest across the country, the authorities are no longer pushing farms to harvest as hard, so the amount of grain left over by farms is more plentiful."

(End of this chapter)