As a few people were talking, the broadcast suddenly announced that the train they were taking was about to arrive, and they quickly picked up their belongings and went to queue.
... Da Feng Novel
In the village, Li Xiulan was cleaning with her daughters-in-law.
"Mom, it's just third sister-in-law and little sister coming back, but anyone who didn't know would think you were marrying off a granddaughter-in-law."
Liu Yuemin stood by the cabinet with a rag, having wiped the same spot for half the day.
"It's not just for them. Tidying up now will save trouble before the New Year."
Li Xiulan came down from the window with a rag. Seeing that she hadn't moved for a long time, she frowned displeasedly. "I think it's about time. If you don't want to do this, go chop firewood and cook."
Liu Yuemin didn't move; cooking was worse than cleaning.
"Mom, I've collected the quilt covers from little sister and third sister-in-law's rooms." Zhang Qin came in from outside with a large pile of quilt covers. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaoju quickly wiped the surface of the kang again. Zhang Qin then put the things on the kang.
"You sisters-in-law should help stitch the quilts together." Seeing Liu Yuemin not moving, Li Xiulan had no choice but to put down her work and go to the kitchen to cook.
In the evening, snow began to fall outside. Fearing that the men would be too cold when they returned with the grain, the stove inside was burning brightly. The children were playing on the ground, and Li Xiulan was sewing quilts with her three daughters-in-law.
Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Gu Shoufu and the men came in from outside, covered in wind and snow.
The weather outside was freezing, and the men had been cold and hungry all day. Frost had formed on their eyes and eyebrows. As soon as they entered the warm room, they couldn't help but shiver.
"Why are you back so late?" Li Xiulan put down her work, picked up a broom from the side of the kang, and went to sweep the snow off them.
"The scale at the grain depot was broken, which delayed us for a while." Gu Shoufu casually patted the snow off himself and went to the stove. As he got older, his body was not as strong and he couldn't stand the cold.
Gu Xingye looked at Li Xiulan and said happily, "Mom, you don't know, we heard great news when we delivered the grain this time. Other communes have already been notified, and it's estimated that our area will be soon too. The higher-ups are going to implement the household contract responsibility system."
Li Xiulan: "What is the household contract responsibility system?"
Gu Xingye smiled. "It means dividing the land among individuals based on labor. They call it something like family output system. Anyway, we won't be doing large collective farming anymore."
Li Xiulan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh my heavens, can the land be ours then? Wouldn't that make us landlords?"
Hearing their conversation, Liu Yuemin could no longer work. She casually stuck her needle into the spool and turned to put on her shoes before getting off the kang. She asked anxiously, "Fourth brother, how much land can one person get? Will it still be counted by work points? Do we still have to pay grain tax? When will our village get the news?"
"It's no use asking fourth brother. We only heard about it from people in other communes when we were delivering grain. There's no news about our area yet."
Gu Xingmin went to the stove and warmed his hands. "Have you cooked? We only ate this morning. We're starving now."
Liu Yuemin nodded. "I've cooked. I'll put it on the table now." Da Feng Novel Network
Although the exact news had not yet reached the village, the fact that other communes were implementing it indicated that it was almost certain. Not only the Gu family, but all other families who received the news were very excited. Some couldn't wait and rushed to Zhang Changhe's house to inquire about the situation.
"There's no news from the commune yet. The commune will organize a meeting for cadres from various villages and towns before the New Year, and I'll ask about the situation then."
Zhang Changhe did not dare to speak carelessly without definite news. However, based on his many years of experience, this matter was likely to succeed.
Since the implementation of the "iron rice bowl," everyone was indeed enthusiastic at first. But as time went on, more and more people were slacking off, and the harvest of the production team was getting worse year by year. In his opinion, if the household contract responsibility system was implemented, it would truly be a good thing. At least if they worked for their own families, these people would have no excuse to be lazy.
...
Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping arrived at the village the next afternoon.
"Second sister, you go home first. I'll go home to see Mom and Dad tomorrow." After parting with Chen Liyuan, the two sisters-in-law walked towards the Gu family's house with Rui Rui.
Their eldest daughter had been away at school for half a year, the longest time she had been away from her side since she was born. Li Xiulan had been looking out the window intermittently since noon, and by the afternoon, she was getting restless.
"Xingping and the others haven't returned yet. Could something have happened on the way?"
Zhang Qin couldn't help but smile and comfort her. "Mom, don't worry. With third sister-in-law there, nothing will happen."
"Why don't I go to the village entrance to look?" Li Xiulan grabbed a headscarf and was about to tie it on when she suddenly saw two adults and one child walking in through the yard gate. She immediately walked out happily, "You're back, you're finally back."
"Mom!" Seeing Li Xiulan, Gu Xingping immediately ran forward and hugged her.
"How old are you and you're still acting spoiled? You must be frozen from the journey. Hurry inside, it's warm in here."
As they entered the house, Chen Lishu quickly took off the hat and scarf wrapped around Rui Rui's head, and then took off her own.
"Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, fourth sister-in-law."
Chen Lishu smiled and greeted everyone, then took the clothes for herself and her child to her room.
When she opened the door, she found that the room had been thoroughly cleaned. Although she hadn't been back for a year, the room was still clean and tidy. It seemed that the bedding had been taken apart and washed again. She guessed that Li Xiulan and the others had tidied it up specifically because they knew she was coming back, and Chen Lishu couldn't help but feel warm inside.
When she came out again, she was holding several bags of divided candies.
"I bought these in the provincial city. Besides milk candy, there's also chocolate. Let the children have a taste."
Upon hearing that there were candies, the children playing on the ground all put down their toys and gathered around. The two little ones crawling around on the kang also crawled over, their mouths watering.
One of the two little ones was Gu Pan from Gu Xingye's family, and the other was Gu Feng from Gu Xingmin's family. The two children were only a few months apart.
After distributing the candies to the children, Rui Rui and Gu Song went to play with their brothers. Chen Lishu and Gu Xingping sat down to chat with Li Xiulan and the others.
"Household contract responsibility system?"
Chen Lishu was startled when she heard this term. In her previous life, after she married Lu Chengming, she had always lived in the provincial city. Due to inconvenient communication, she knew very little about the village. Although she knew that land was later divided, she didn't expect it to be so early.
Li Xiulan: "They call it some kind of family output system. Fourth mentioned it, but there's no definite news yet."
"Family household contract responsibility system," Chen Lishu added.