Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

After finishing lunch, Long Lifan slumped onto the table, her right hand gripping the pen tightly. She had promised Xu Tiansheng she would write an article about threshing machines for the machinery factory, and she was determined not to break her word.

At that moment, she was racking her brains, trying to find the most appropriate words. Just then, Hu Lili walked over and asked curiously, "Sister Fan, what are you planning to do?"

Without looking up, Long Lifan answered intently, "Write an article about threshing machines!"

"Oh," Hu Lili responded softly, and then carefully stepped aside, seemingly afraid of disturbing Sister Fan.

Long Lifan frowned, staring at the blank sheet of paper. Her thoughts were like leaves swirling in the wind, chaotic and disordered. Having witnessed the astonishing machinery of later generations, she found it incredibly difficult to describe the shock and emotional turmoil she felt upon first seeing it. The pen tip lightly traced across the paper, but left no meaningful mark.

Her gaze inadvertently fell on Hu Lili, who was standing beside her, and a thought suddenly occurred to her. She gently handed the pen to Hu Lili and said with a smile, "Lili, why don't you give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Lili abruptly raised her head, her face filled with astonishment. She waved her hands repeatedly, shaking her head like a rattle drum: "Sister Fan, aren't you making things difficult for me? With a brain like mine, how could I possibly write anything? No, no!"

Long Lifan laughed, "Didn't you see me write this last time? Just follow that pattern. Besides, didn't you confidently say a few days ago that you wanted to be my assistant? One of the duties of an assistant is to help the leader with the writing task." As she spoke, she encouraged Hu Lili with her eyes, seemingly waiting for the other party's response.

"If you can write it, I might actually suggest to the captain and the others that you become my assistant."

"real!"

Hu Lili's eyes lit up when she heard Long Lifan say that. She took the paper and pen from Long Lifan and sat down on the stool next to her to start thinking.

In previous years, the autumn harvest in Dongwan Brigade always took a lot of time due to various reasons. However, this year, the situation was quite different. With the assistance of a threshing machine, the threshing work, which originally took more than half a month to complete, was finished in just 5 days.

Meanwhile, encouraged by Long Lifan, Hu Lili also showcased her writing talent. She was usually reluctant to think, but this time, spurred on by Long Lifan, she actually wrote a very good piece. Long Lifan praised it highly after reading it, and of course, pointed out some minor issues to help her take another step forward in her writing.

With the corn stored away, the autumn harvest in Dongwan Brigade officially came to an end. The days that followed returned to their usual tranquility. However, hidden within this tranquility was a quiet, unspoken joy.

During this time, Comrade Wang brought Director Xu to the Dongwan Brigade. Their visit was not only to retrieve the threshing machine, but also to share some good news with Long Lifan. It turned out that, after the threshing machine was tested in various communes, the cadres witnessed its convenience and efficiency firsthand and were all interested in purchasing it.

This was undoubtedly a huge business opportunity for the machinery factory. Long Lifan was overjoyed upon hearing this. She knew that this was not only a success for the machinery factory, but also a very important step for the country towards agricultural modernization.

Hu Lili's submission, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, once again stirred up a huge uproar in G Province. The Provincial Department of Agriculture attached great importance to this and personally sent personnel to Pingwu County for on-site investigation.

The inspection team went deep into the workshop, carefully learned about the production process, and praised the performance of the machinery. After the inspection, the Provincial Department of Agriculture decided to strongly support the county machinery factory in expanding its production scale, requiring them to work overtime to produce more high-quality machinery. This machinery will be promoted throughout the province to help agricultural production and improve farmers' living standards. Hu Lili's article not only brought opportunities to the county machinery factory but also injected new vitality into the agricultural development of G Province. Of course, Long Lifan and her colleagues were unaware of all this.

That day, Long Lifan was held tightly by Hu Lili, feeling her trembling body and her inner excitement. It turned out that Hu Lili had received a letter from the postman that day; this was the first time she had truly earned money through her writing.

"Sister Fan, I did it!"

Hu Lili's voice choked with sobs, and tears welled in her eyes. She wasn't short of money; the amount of the payment wasn't important to her. But the recognition of her work was an affirmation of her value.

Holding Long Lifan's hand, Hu Lili shared her joy and expressed her hopes and expectations for the future. Every word was filled with excitement and pride, as if this success had already allowed her to see the dawn of her dreams.

Long Lifan listened silently, genuinely happy for Hu Lili's success. She believed that as long as Hu Lili persisted, she might truly be able to create even more of her own brilliance through writing.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Long Lifan's mind. She gently patted Hu Lili's shoulder and said softly, "You can also write down the people and things you see in the countryside in the future. They are all unique creative materials for you. You can even try writing some short stories and submitting them to newspapers and magazines so that more people can see your work."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in Hu Lili's eyes, as if she had found her direction. She nodded repeatedly, looking at Sister Fan with gratitude, and secretly resolved to work hard in her writing and live up to expectations.

As November arrived, the work in the fields of Dongwan Brigade was nearing its end, with only some finishing touches remaining.

That day, Long Lifan was summoned to a village committee meeting by Lin Guodong and the others. Stepping into the meeting room, she found that in addition to Lin Guodong and the other two brigade cadres, the four squad leaders were also gathered there. However, the atmosphere was unusually tense; everyone's faces still bore the lingering anger, as if they had just experienced a fierce argument.

Long Lifan's heart tightened as she secretly pondered the topic of the meeting and the focus of the argument. The tense atmosphere in the air made her nerves taut as well.

Fortunately, when Lin Guodong saw Long Zhiqing walking in, he felt a glimmer of hope for resolving the dispute. He quickly went to greet him and explained the focus of the argument.

It turned out that it was time to hand over the task pigs to the commune. (The task pigs were piglets purchased by the commune with funds, and in addition, they would be given extra grain as a subsidy. They were carefully raised by each brigade.) Once the pigs had grown up, half of them would go to the commune and the other half would be kept for the brigade's own use, thus ensuring the commune's needs were met while also allowing the brigade members to enjoy some meat.

The Dongwan Brigade had raised four healthy pigs for their task, and according to regulations, two should be handed over—a matter that should have been settled without further discussion. However, the two large white pigs near the chicken farm became the focus of everyone's discussion. These pigs were originally a generous gift from Wang Hongtao to Long Zhiqing, and after more than five months of Long Zhiqing's meticulous care, they had grown plump and strong, weighing nearly 300 jin (approximately 150 kg).

Lin Guodong and several brigade cadres discussed making these two Landrace pigs one of the pigs to be handed over as part of the quota, which would both demonstrate the brigade's contribution to the commune and their loyalty. However, this suggestion was opposed by several squad leaders, who argued that these pigs did not belong to the quota.

Of course, the main breed is the local black pig, which, even after a long period of feeding, only weighs a little over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg). The Changbai pigs, on the other hand, have grown to nearly 300 jin (approximately 150 catties). The four team leaders didn't want to hand over the Changbai pigs because they wanted the villagers to get a larger share of the meat.

Lin Guodong thought that the reason why this Changbai pig was so robust was entirely due to Long Zhiqing's influence and hard work. From the generous gift from the agricultural trade station to Long Zhiqing's meticulous care, the effort and sweat involved could not be summed up in just a few words.

Therefore, Captain Lin Guodong decided to invite Long Lifan to hear her opinion as the person involved, and to see how to decide whether to keep or discard the Changbai pig. Long Lifan's arrival temporarily calmed the previously noisy debate. All eyes, from Lin Guodong and his two companions to the several squad leaders, were on this person involved.