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

Director Huang's gaze swept around the room before he noticed a young girl sitting in the corner. His brows furrowed immediately, his expression full of displeasure. He turned to Lin Guodong and said in a serious tone, "Captain Lin, the village committee is an important place for cadres to discuss important matters. How can we let outsiders here so casually?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong was taken aback, then realized who Director Huang was referring to. He quickly explained, "Oh, Director Huang, you may have misunderstood. This is Comrade Long Lifan, a sent-down youth who is currently serving as the women's director of our Dongwan brigade. Logically speaking, she is also one of our village cadres."

Upon hearing this, Huang Shi sneered, his tone full of disdain: "You guys are really something, actually letting a mere educated youth be the women's director of Dongwan Brigade. What kind of talk is this! Sigh, never mind, let's talk about the next arrangements."

Upon hearing this, Long Lifan was immediately displeased. Her eyes widened, and she was about to retort when she saw Director Huang slowly raise his right hand and lightly tap the table a few times with the enamel lid. The crisp sound echoed in the room, seemingly adding a touch of solemnity to his upcoming words.

Director Huang spoke slowly, his voice steady and powerful: "Captain Lin, in principle, we should immediately begin ideological work with the commune members upon arrival. But as you can see, we walked all the way here today and are truly exhausted. This state is probably not conducive to the smooth progress of our work. Therefore, I think we should rest for the night at the Dongwan Brigade, recharge our energy, and then throw ourselves into our work with renewed vigor tomorrow. What do you think?"

After speaking, he looked intently at Captain Lin, waiting for his response.

"Alright, then you can rest here at the brigade headquarters tonight." Although Lin Guodong strongly disagreed with Director Huang's earlier disdain for Long Lifan, he couldn't show it because the other party was a leader from the city, so he could only swallow his harsh words. He forced a smile and continued, "I'll have someone prepare dinner right away." After saying that, he prepared to arrange for people to prepare it.

As they spoke, Lin Guodong led the other village officials out of the room. Long Lifan followed closely behind. Although she was seething with anger, she knew now was not the time to confront Director Huang directly. She was still hoping to get some information about the elderly couple from Huang Shi.

"Hey, Captain, are you rushing off to the chicken farm?" Long Lifan was on her way to the chicken farm to check on the chickens when she saw Lin Guodong traveling with her, so she couldn't help but ask curiously.

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong stopped and gave a wry smile: "Yes, aren't some people from above coming over? I have to go to the chicken farm to catch two roosters, kill them, and get them some fresh eggs. Sigh, every time a leader comes, we have to prepare a lot, serving them good food and wine. It's really a headache!"

After saying that, he shook his head helplessly, feeling a deep sense of reluctance and helplessness towards this kind of social obligation of welcoming and seeing off guests.

Long Lifan frowned slightly upon hearing this. The chickens at the chicken farm were the apple of Brigade Leader Lin Guodong's eye; he treated them like royalty. But now, to entertain those visiting from above, they were going to kill two roosters and prepare eggs. Seeing the Brigade Leader's reluctant expression, Long Lifan felt a mix of emotions. Recalling Director Huang's arrogant attitude earlier, she genuinely felt that such a fuss was unnecessary.

“Captain, I really don’t think it’s necessary to be so extravagant.” Long Lifan looked at Lin Guodong and said seriously, “Our village is already struggling financially. We didn’t even have time to kill a chicken for the New Year. Now, to entertain them, we’re going to kill a rooster. Isn’t that just putting on a show? It’s also easy to create a false impression.”

Lin Guodong frowned upon hearing this and tentatively asked, "What about dinner tonight? It can't be too meager, can it?"

Long Lifan smiled and said, "That's easy. We'll prepare what the villagers usually eat, simple and affordable. The leaders from above are human too, they'll understand our difficulties."

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong still felt a little guilty: "This...isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all, they are leaders from above."

"Captain, don't worry." Long Lifan started her persuasive mode. "Our village's conditions are not good to begin with, that's common knowledge. If the villagers find out that you killed a chicken to entertain the leaders, it might damage the leaders' image among the people. The best way is to prepare as usual and treat our guests sincerely."

Lin Guodong listened to Long Lifan's words and found them quite reasonable. He nodded and decided to do as Long Lifan suggested. Therefore, Lin Guodong changed course and decided to make other arrangements.

As evening fell, Director Huang and his three companions were seated at the brigade headquarters for dinner, with Brigade Commander Lin Guodong accompanying them. Director Huang's face gradually darkened as he looked at the corn porridge, golden-brown flatbreads, and simple stir-fried vegetables laid out on the table. The other accompanying personnel also looked displeased, clearly dissatisfied with the standard of hospitality.

Lin Guodong, the brigade leader who had been successfully "tricked" by Long Lifan that afternoon, smiled and took out a bottle of loose liquor from the side, filling the glasses for the leaders. He said with a smile, "Director Huang, I'm really sorry, our Dongwan brigade is poor, so we can only offer you this simple meal to welcome you. I hope you won't mind."

Seeing that Director Huang's expression was off, Secretary Ma quickly tried to smooth things over: "Captain Lin, isn't this a bit much? Didn't I hear that your village built a chicken farm last year? Is there still some good food you haven't served yet, and you want to give Director Huang a surprise?" He muttered to himself, "Lin Guodong isn't usually this stingy. What's he up to today? Isn't this a slap in the face to our Red Star Commune?"

Lin Guodong sighed dramatically and said, “Oh, you mean that chicken farm? Yes, we built one last year, but it’s too small. The village is counting on those chickens to lay eggs and make some money. I originally wanted to kill a chicken to welcome Director Huang, but when I thought about how the villagers had worked hard all year and hadn’t even had chicken, if we killed a chicken as soon as Director Huang came, wouldn’t that damage his image in the eyes of the people? So I decisively gave up the idea.”

Director Huang: "???"

"Damn it, you're ruining our image among the people! If you don't want to receive us, just say so!" But now that Lin Guodong had said this, he couldn't argue even if he wanted to. He could only force a smile and say:

"Captain Lin is right. The commune members are still living such a hard life, how can we leaders afford to eat fish and meat?"